Reunited
by ArtemisApollo97
Summary: Percy Jackson's biggest challenge yet; it's horrifying, it's demented, it's... it's... his twin sister! Dun dun duuuuhhhh! (Some swearing)
1. Chapter 1

**I've been toying with the idea of Percy and Lou meeting- sort of like that** _ **Sister**_ **fic I started FOREVER ago, but not one-shots. An actual story of how they actually met. I own nothing, obviously, except Lou and other OCs that may or may not crop up.**

* * *

Sally placed an IM to Chiron not long after the Titan War. She looked sheepish, chewing her fingernails, dark circles under her eyes. "To what do I owe the honour?" Chiron asked politely. Sally lowered her hands, tucking them away. "Is Percy alright?"

"He says he's on strike, but he's fine. That's... that's not why I wanted to talk to you though."

"How can I be of assistance?" Chiron waited patiently, watching her hesitate, words failing as they reached her lips. "Mrs. Jackson, are you feeling well?" The old mentor leaned forward in his chair, worriedly examining her ashen features. She started biting at her thumbnail again. "Take your time." Chiron insisted kindly. Sally glanced over her shoulder and then shifted closer to the message, lowering her voice.

"I haven't told Percy this, Poseidon didn't want me to until the time was right, but... now that everything's calmed down again, I need to tell _someone_. I thought you would know what to do. I've kept this quiet for so many years, I had hoped things would work out, but I'm at a loss now." Chiron quirked a brow and she took a deep breath. "Percy... wasn't born an only child. He has a sister, a twin sister and... and Poseidon took her. Not long after they were born, hours. I've wanted to tell Percy as soon as he was old enough to understand, but his- _their_ father made me swear I wouldn't. I don't know where she is, I don't know what she looks like, who she is as a person, I don't _know_ any of that." Tears cascaded down her cheeks and she closed her eyes, head bowed.

"Did you name her?" Chiron asked softly.

"Yes." She sniffed, nodding timidly. "Yes, she... she was Louisa. Maybe she still is, I don't know. I don't even know if she's alive. I'm sorry." She said, catching a sob in her hand. "I've just never told anyone-" She hiccupped. Chiron smiled gently.

"Mrs. Jackson, we'll find her. Until we do, however, Percy must not know. If those are his father's wishes, we must abide by them." Sally nodded, dragging her sleeve across her face. "Did Poseidon ever tell you why he took her?" No. "Did he at least tell you _where_?" Another no, more tears. Chiron sighed. "I'll talk to the satyrs. Demigods are popping up all over the place now, I'm sure she can't be far."

"Thank you. Chiron, thank you, I... thank you."

"It's the least I can do for the mother of our latest hero."

"He's not very heroic at the minute, I assure you. I've never seen so much mess in my life." She tried for a smile and the IM faded. Chiron wheeled himself outside. Mr. D was sat on the porch, nursing a Diet Coke as a nervous satyr peeled grapes for him. Chiron, despite the god's protests, asked the young satyr- Martin- to fetch Grover. Mr. D glared at him, setting his can down and straightening in his seat with a wince. Chiron smiled sympathetically. "I know you need the rest and the help, but I've been tasked with a mission, one that requires Mr. Underwood's help."

"What mission could be more important than me?"

"We've a daughter of Poseidon on the loose."

"Oh, fun."

* * *

 **I've got a few chapters for this, it's why I haven't updated the past few days, I've been working on this. Sorry! ^_^**


	2. Chapter 2

"Annabeth. Annabeth!" Grover called, racing towards his blonde friend. She stopped and looked back at him questioningly. "Annabeth, you're not going to _believe_ what Chiron's just told me. Ow, stitch... ow..." He gripped her arm for support, doubling over as he tried to catch his breath. Annabeth held him by the elbow until he resurfaced. "Right, firstly, is Percy anywhere near Camp, at all?"

"No."

"OK, good, because he's not to know about this. Not yet anyway."

"If you're throwing him a surprise party-"

"No, no, no. No party. This is bigger than a party."

"Oh? Grover, are you alright? You look like your brain just imploded."

"It may as well have. Get this- _Percy has a sister_."

" _What_?"

"Yeah! A _twin_ sister! Sally just called it in, Chiron told me, he wants me and you to find her! All we know is that her name's Louisa, that's it. Sally knows _nothing_ , Poseidon never told her anything. Took her when she a few hours old and never said a word." Annabeth frowned, thoughts whirring behind her eyes at a million miles an hour. "Percy's going to be _so_ happy when he finds out!"

"As long as his head doesn't explode." Annabeth blinked a few times, giving a small shake of the head and sighing. "Where would we even start to look? You and your satyrs are checking every demigod that's coming through, you'd have noticed if they were a Big Three child." Grover nodded in agreement. "Is it worth asking Poseidon? Do you think he'll answer?"

"We need to start somewhere, so why not? Uh... you wouldn't happen to have a drachma, would you? I left mine in my pants and, well..." He looked down at his furry legs and then back up at her, apologetic smile in place. Annabeth cast her eyes to the skies above, fishing a drachma from her jeans. "Excellent." Grover grinned. "Ooh, I'm really excited! I wonder what she's like?" Annabeth shrugged. "What's wrong? You don't look very happy about this."

"I'm not. Percy didn't stay hidden for very long, not even with that Gabe masking his smell. How do we even know this Louisa's alive? Where has she been, what has she been doing, how has she survived this long if she is alive... I've just got so many questions..." Grover licked his lips nervously and then held up the coin.

"We'll find out. If she's anything like Percy, I'm sure she'll have found a way. You know better than anyone how stubborn Poseidon's kids can be." Annabeth hummed in agreement, thoughts turning to Percy. The idiot had gone from a strike to full-out retirement- "or, at least, until I get bored. Might come back just to terrorise you, Wise-Girl. Ain't I sweet?" Grover was talking again and she did her best to focus on him; he was simply theorising what this sister would be like. Annabeth liked his enthusiasm. She just hoped it wasn't all for nought.

* * *

 **IF YOU LIKE HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, GO AND READ 'This changes everything' by JHawkins! GO GO GO NOW GO!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Lord Poseidon." Annabeth greeted, bowing her head. Grover did likewise. "We are sorry if we've interrupted anything, but we need to talk to you."

"Is this about Louisa? Yes, I know, don't look so surprised. Iris told me. She- Louisa, that is- is very much alive, if that is what you are wondering."

"Where is she? Please, sir." Annabeth added as his expression turned gravelly serious. "Percy's always wanted a sister; he never knew he already had one." When the sea god still didn't talk, Annabeth felt her temper tick over. Grover shot her a warning look, noticing the change in her emotions immediately. "Don't you think you at least owe him that after everything he's done for you?" She demanded. Poseidon's brow furrowed. "And maybe... maybe Louisa's wondering where her birth family is, maybe-"

"Enough." Poseidon said fiercely. Annabeth reluctantly held her tongue. "Louisa and Percy are fated to meet soon, there is no need to rush things."

"How soon is soon?"

"A few years."

"That isn't _soon_! Maybe for you immortals, but how are we supposed to keep this information to ourselves for _a few years_? If Percy finds out, he'll move hell and high water to find her, you know that." Poseidon sighed. "Just tell us where she is, we'll bring her in and reunite them, I don't see any harm in it. I'm sure they both deserve to know the truth."

"Louisa won't take that very lightly."

"We'll figure it out." Grover insisted positively. Poseidon was beginning to look amused.

"You two honestly have no idea what will be in store, do you?"

"They're family. You can't keep them apart." Annabeth argued, tipping her chin up defiantly. "What's the worse that could happen if they meet _a few years_ early?" Poseidon hummed thoughtfully, stroking his beard. Grover looked from his friend to the god, back and forth a few times until Poseidon finally spoke.

"The Fates will undoubtedly scold me for this, but I'm intrigued. Believe it or not, Louisa is in New York as well. Unfortunately, that is all I am allowed to tell you. I will be watching though, I want to know how this plays out. Goodbye and good luck." With a chuckle, he disconnected the IM. Annabeth and Grover shared looks.

"How can she be in New York? Surely we would have found her by now?" Grover toyed with his pipes nervously. Annabeth curled a lock of hair around her finger, thinking.

"When we find her, we can ask her ourselves."

"Poseidon said 'good luck'. I didn't like the way he said 'good luck'. You don't think she was one of the demigods who _turned_ , do you?" Annabeth froze. Despite her best instincts to automatically protest- this was Percy's flesh and blood, after all- it was possible Louisa had been on the opposite side of the war- their paths had simply never crossed. "Please say I'm wrong." Grover pleaded, shaking her arm.

"I hope you are."


	4. Chapter 4

**To percy's sis- thank you! ^_^**

 **To Guest- Chiron's three thousand years old, I think he's got over surprises :P**

* * *

"G-man!" Percy grinned. "Sup, bro?"

"Hey, Percy! I've some errands to run in New York and Annabeth's coming with me. Figured we'd drop by. You free?"

"Dude, I'm retired. Let yourselves in." There was a clatter on the other end and Percy muttered a few self-directed insults. "Mom keeps telling me off for making a mess. Hey, what errands are running anyway? Need any help?"

"I thought you were retired?"

"I can help my best bud if I want. And if he needs me to."

"Nah, it's alright. You chill, bro, you've earned it."

"I believe we've _all_ earned it. If it wasn't for all these new demigods appearing out of the woodworks, you satyrs would have it so much easier." Percy hissed. "Sorry, dude."

"It's fine. You know us, we satyrs like to be busy. What have you broken now?"

"Some vase thing. Dammit. Grover, I'm gonna have to go. Just drop by whenever you feel like it, OK?"

"Will do." Grover promised, placing the phone in its reciever. He looked up to see Annabeth scanning the phonebook. "Anything?"

"Only a Louisa Jackson in marketing. That doesn't sound right somehow, agreed?"

"Agreed." Annabeth flipped a few pages and grumbled a curse. "What?"

"How do we even know her last name _is_ Jackson?" Grover shrugged. "Exactly, we don't. Poseidon never said anything about her last name, just that she was in New York. Did you know, the name 'Louisa' is in the top one hundred baby names of that year? Admittedly, it was towards the lower end, ninety-third, but that's still a _lot_ of Louisa's."

"Please tell me we don't have to go through every Louisa in the city?"

"At the moment, that seems like the only plan we've got." Annabeth sighed, rubbing at the back of her neck irritably. "Well, we've got her birthday as well, obviously. August eighteenth nineteen-ninety-three."

"Well, at least it's not Louisa from marketing."

"This is going to take a while. Any clues?" Grover sniffed the air and his stomach growled.

"I smell enchiladas. Mmm." He hummed dreamily. "You'll be happy to know no monsters though. Can we get lunch first and then look? I'm starving."

"You've been with Percy too much."

"So have you." Grover made a few immature kissing noises. Annabeth kicked at one of his crutches and he nearly face-planted. "I'm just teasing! It's about time you two got together, sheesh." He righted himself and grinned. "Come on. You'll feel better after food."

"You being you, not me."

"You being both of us and an incentive to move faster."


	5. Chapter 5

They hit the library after lunch, using a little satyr magic to see the records. Annabeth had thought about it when she had been given the bill at lunch. She and Grover went through them, her dyslexia playing up and plaguing her with a raging headache. The staff helped where they could, a bit monotonous and sluggish until Grover played a quick, merry tune that brightened and energised them. One prowled the Internet for them, even trawling through the archive database.

Hours passed and they had a dozen names. Grover was hungry again. Annabeth decided twelve names was better than a few thousand. They left the library undetected, Grover hobbling on his crutches. "Can we go and see Percy now?"

"Yeah." Annabeth said, pocketing the list.

"I don't want to be a third wheel though."

"You won't be a third wheel."

"OK, good. I'll hold you to that."

"Like we'd be so heartless as to leave our favourite satyr out."

"Aaahhh!" Grover blushed and smiled bashfully. "We can't tell him yet, can we?" Annabeth shook her head. "I can't wait to see his face when he finds out!"

They reached Percy's five minutes later. Sally answered the door, hugging them both tightly. Percy was running the vacuum cleaner around the living room, looking rather bored. "I've made him tidy up." Sally grinned slyly, eyes glinting with pride. "He tried the 'but I saved Olympus card'-"

"And she played the 'I'm your _mother_ ' card." Percy mimicked over the cleaner, hand on hip and pretending to be her. Sally put her fists on her hips, thought better of it and folded her arms instead. Percy grinned cheekily. "Look, got under the sofa and everything. Bored now."

"Missed a spot."

"Where?"

"The rest of the apartment."

" _Ugh_..." Percy wheeled the 'monstrosity' out, returning when the wire trapped him to the wall. "Very bored now."

"Good." Sally nodded. Percy made a face and disappeared into his room. "And don't just leave it running, actually clean it! He's such a drama queen." Sally told his friends as Percy very noisly bashed the nozzle end against furniture just to prove a point. "I know you've just got here, but how's the, um, the search going?" Annabeth showed her the list. Grover went to keep Percy distracted. "I don't know her last name. Kings, Lahlia, Smith, Potter... she could be any one of these." Sally handed the list back. "Let's get you and Grover fed."

"And me!"

"Not until you've finished cleaning!"

"But _Moooooommmmmm_!"

"You're dating that."

"You're related to that."

"Fair play."

* * *

Percy 'escaped' with them later that night, treating them to a cinema trip. "Don't tell Mom, but Paul gave me a bit of an extra allowance."

"For saving Olympus?"

"Something like that, I guess. Poor sod, he's still confused by all this godly business."

"So are we." Grover smiled. "This must be the first time we have _ever_ hung out without some quest or prophecy or death hanging over us." Annabeth and Percy exchanged quick glances and nodded. "I'm gonna write that on my calendar. 'The Day We Didn't Almost Die'. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Dude. Sounds brilliant."

"Less sarcasm, more enthusiasm."

"Sorry."

"No you're not."

"I am!" Percy insisted, waving the movie tickets in Grover's face until Annabeth took them away. "I _was_ going to buy you popcorn, but only Annabeth's getting some now. She's not rude to me."

"Yes I am."

"You weren't just then."

"And I won't be now. I want popcorn."

"Figures." Percy muttered. Annabeth smirked. Grover simpered at the pair of them. "Why are you making weird faces? What do you want?"

"It's about time."

"Oh, don't start that again!" Annabeth said, pulling his cap over his eyes. "Dammit, Grover, you're such a pain."

"I'm lovable! I'm also suddenly bursting for the loo, excuse me." He hobbled off. Percy snickered, joining the queue for snacks.

"Good old Grover." He said, shaking his head and smiling. "You alright, Wise-Girl? You've got your thinking face on." He looked at her worriedly. "This _is_ 'The Day We Didn't Almost Die', right?" She nodded, chewing at her lip and glancing round. "Then, what?"

"I'm sorry, Percy, I'm just edgy. It's all over now, seems a bit... anti-climatic."

"You miss Luke." She sighed.

"Percy. I'm... I'm always going to miss him. He and Thalia, they were the family I had always wanted. You weren't there, you didn't know what it was like, but we were just really close, even after Thalia became one with the forest." Percy smiled feebly. "But Luke will be alright. He did the right thing and... and that should be alright. I hope."

"If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have stood a chance." Percy lay a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sorry I mentioned him, but... if you _do_ need to talk about any of it, just... I'm here, yeah?" Annabeth shone a small grateful smile his way. His hand trailed down her arm to take hers, lifting it to his lips to plant a kiss on her knuckles.

"Lovebirds." Grover said behind them. "Oh, don't, it's cute! Ran into the rudest girl outside the bathrooms though, holy enchiladas, she had a mouth on her."

"Rude to you?" Percy asked with a frown.

"No, rude to this other dude. I don't know what he did, but he soon regretted it." Grover shook his head. "I've not heard insults like that before." Annabeth started to speak. "Don't ask me what, I'm not repeating _any_ of that." A shiver went through him. "Nasty." Percy was called to the counter. Grover nudged Annabeth. "Definitely a demigod." He breathed. "I tried to intervene, but she stomped out. Tried going after her and..." He shook his head. "She'd disappeared."

"The one we're looking for?"

"Very powerful." He nodded. "Didn't get much of a look at her face, she had her back to me most of the time, but I'm sure I can find her again."

"Grover, do you want Rolos or M 'n' M's?"

"Both." Percy blinked at him. "I'm going to share them, obviously. With Annabeth."

"Rude." Percy muttered, but he did get both. "What're you two whispering about anyway?"

"Work." Annabeth said, directing them out of the way. Percy handed her a blue Slushie and Grover's sweets. Annabeth mixed the coloured ice with the straw. Percy had his own blue drink and a Fanta for Grover- he said Fanta bottles were the nicest. Percy just took his word for it.

"Those errands?"

"Yeah."

"No. No work. This is chill time, we've earned it. To Screen Three!"

"You're dating him."

"That's the second time I've heard that today. I hope this isn't going to be a lifelong thing."

"Aaaah, lifelong, eh?" Grover teased, winking and nudging the blonde. Annabeth flushed crimson.

"Shut up."


	6. Chapter 6

Grover managed to track the rude demigod's smell to the other end of the city. Annabeth checked the names on the mailbox, finding a Smith. Matched one of the names on the list. "Number nineteen. Second floor." She said. "Definitely here, yeah?"

"I can smell the ocean. This has got to be it." Annabeth looked round. This apartment block was alright, not too shabby, not as nice as the Jacksons', but filled with mortals, undoubtedly. Grover seemed to read her mind, "Her neighbours mask her scent a bit, but not much. Although, that dude over there doesn't smell particularly nice. Dirty environment hater."

"Come on, eco-warrior. Let's get this done." She pushed him towards the stairs. Grover grumbled a few complaints, but obliged. They reached number nineteen without a problem, spying a blonde woman laying down a new welcome mat. "That's a good sign." Annabeth said, touching a wooden door frame as she passed. The woman didn't look old, late thirties, dressed simply in jeans and a floral blouse, humming to herself. She stood and turned back into her home. "Excuse me!" Annabeth called, hurrying her pace. The woman poked her head back out, brow raised. "Hello, um... This is going to sound very abrupt, but you wouldn't happen to know a Louisa would you?"

"My daughter, yes. Are you friends of hers?"

"Well... no, but..." Annabeth rubbed at her chin. "I'm sorry, let me start over. I'm Annabeth Chase, this is Grover Underwood. We're here for a friend."

"Jessica Smith." Jessica smiled, holding her hand out. She shook both of theirs and invited them in, offering tea and biscuits. "Make yourself at home. Excuse the mess, Louisa's not the best at tidying." Grover shot an amused look at Annabeth and she nodded slightly. "You're here for a friend, you say?"

"Yes, um... if we've got the right place, our friend is Louisa's brother." Jessica stopped short. She looked back a second later.

"Lou doesn't have any birth family. Po- uh, her father told me that."

"Poseidon?" Grover suggested. Jessica's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Are you like her? Are you... are you demigods?"

"I am." Annabeth said. "Daughter of Athena. Grover here is a satyr."

"Your daughter smells." Jessica did a double-take, blinking and shaking her head. "Satyrs have a heightened sense of smell, we track down demigods and invite them to Camp to train and-" Jessica was shaking her head again, pulling at her face worriedly. "I'm sorry, that's a bit forward. Just be grateful I haven't taken my pants off." A bewildered look was sent his way. "I'm half-goat."

"Half-goat." She echoed faintly. "Daughter of a maiden goddess and a half-goat who says my daughter smells. Oh, it's going to be one of them days, I just know it. Let me put the kettle on, lord knows I need some caffiene."


	7. Chapter 7

**Shout out to TheatreChristianManiac for helping pick Louisa's middle name, which will be revealed soon! See if you can guess what it is! ^_^ Theatre, sssh! :P**

* * *

"Where is Louisa?"

"She's been busy this last week." Jessica sighed, taking a sip of her tea. "I'm not sure what happened exactly, she said some sort of sleeping curse was put over the city and all mortals were asleep. She said there was a big fight between demigods and Titans, but she hasn't told me everything. Doesn't want me to worry, I expect. She's been out and about, fixing things up. She'll come back for food and a few hours' sleep and be off again."

"What side did she fight on?"

"She didn't. Poseidon told her to stay out of it no matter what. He sent her to England for a couple of days, she's got friends over there. I'm sure she would have fought for Olympus had he let her, she wasn't at all happy to be put on the sidelines. Normally, Poseidon has her running errands for him, some of the other gods too. Little tasks here and there, it keeps her busy. Not necessarily happy, but busy."

"Do you know when she'll be back?" Jessica glanced at the clock on the wall.

"She should have been back by now. She probably just lost track of time."

"Miss. Smith?" Grover asked. "How-?"

"Oh, just call me Jessica. Miss. Smith is too teachery for me."

"OK. Jessica. How did you meet Louisa?"

"It was a really strange day. The weather had been playing up all day, which makes sense now that I look back on it, the sea itself seemed to be going crazy. When it calmed down, I went to the beach. I like looking for shells and other things I could salvage, it's an old hobby of mine. Found Louisa instead. Out cold, I thought she was dead, such a small child. Don't tell her I said that, she hates being reminded she's short. I set about adopting her not long after."

"How old was she then?"

"Nine."

"And when did you find out she was... who she is?"

"She told me outright. I didn't believe her at first, not until Poseidon visited me. Turned into water vapour, thought I was dreaming when I woke up the next morning." Jessica shook her head. "But I adopted her all the same. She's been... trying, to put it nicely, but I suppose children are." Jessica smiled fondly. "She's such a wildcard, she does make me laugh, bless her." A thud on the door made them jump. Jessica hurriedly set her tea down and rushed to answer it. "What on _earth_ did you do this time?"

"Not my fault." Jessica tucked an arm around the thud, leading her in. Louisa- five foot five, six at most- bleeding from lacerations on her side, arms, face and hands. Sea green eyes flashed at them sat on the sofa and she stopped. "Who are they?"

"Um, well, she's a demigod too and he's a satyr. Look, let's get you sorted first." Jessica persisted when Louisa winced and flinched. Her hand went to the deep cut on her side, coming away a viciously dark scarlet. "Louisa." Jessica warned. Annabeth hopped to her feet and Louisa glowered at her.

"I've some nectar and ambrosia in my bag, let me help." She started rummaging in her bag. Louisa frowned and pulled away from her adoptive mother, hand going to a watch on her wrist.

"Lou, no." Jessica covered the watch with her hand. "Annabeth, thank you. But water works better." Grover tapped Annabeth's arm and they nodded at each other. Jessica directed Louisa into the kitchen, seating her on a stool. Louisa watched them furiously through the door, eyes calculating. Annabeth hesitated, sitting only when Grover tugged on her hand.

"Like a shorter, girl version of Percy." He whispered.

"A very hurt, very angry, shorter girl version of Percy." They looked back into the kitchen, seeing Jessica dab a damp cloth over Louisa's injuries. They healed up within seconds, seemed to give her energy. "Should we go and talk to her or wait?"

"I'm picking up _serious_ madness from her, I think we should wait. And that watch, I think that turns into her weapon."

"I wonder what she's got."

Jessica talked to Louisa for a few minutes, giving her a glass of water as she did so. They caught the odd word, Jessica trying to calm and reassure Louisa that there was no danger, they were simply here for a friend. She made no mention of Percy, of a brother, not of her birth family. Louisa shook her head a few times and seemed very obstinate about something. Jessica nodded every time, patting her shoulder, her cheek. Eventually, Louisa nodded and followed her mother into the living room. Annabeth made the introductions again and Louisa wrinkled her nose.

"I thought I could smell goat." Grover grinned and tugged up his trousers leg. "Never met a satyr. You guys are pretty clever hidin' in the mortal world, I'll give ya that. But I ain't goin' to no camp."

"But you're getting attacked out here."

"Only because there's still monsters lurkin' around from that gods-forsaken _war_. Ugh, Dad should've let me fight, won't have any of this right now." She swore in Ancient Greek and Jessica frowned. "Sorry." Louisa muttered. She examined the two guests, expression tightening. "You ain't here ta take me ta camp. What'd ya want?"

"OK, Louisa. I'm just going to say this, no beating around the bush- you have a brother. A _full_ brother, a _twin_ brother."

"Yeah, and they're dating." Grover grinned, nodding at Annabeth. Annabeth pinched his leg. "Ah, ow, fur, ow ow, ow! Mercy!" She let go. Grover whimpered, shifting to the other end of the sofa. Louisa was staring at Annabeth as though she had sprouted a second and third head, breath catching on each inhaltion. Annabeth waited calmly, folding one leg over the other and placing her hands in her lap. Jessica toyed with the hem of her blouse nervously while Grover played with his pipes. He tooted a few soft notes and Louisa seemed to come to her senses.

"N-no, that's... Dad said... I'm... _what_?"

"You have a twin brother in this city. You were seperated at birth by your father because he thought you two growing up together would be far too dangerous and because the Fates told him so. Jessica, I'm sorry to say this, I don't want to make you uneasy in anyway, but," Annabeth turned back to Louisa, "he lives with your birth mother." Jessica winced. Louisa's hands curled into fists, anger settling deeply into her features.

"No. I'm not interested."

"Louisa-" Jessica rose slightly, hand out to the demigod.

"No. You adopted me, you took me in, you're my mom. Not some... some _cow_ that didn't even want me in the first place!"

"That's not true-" Grover began. Louisa's glare cut to him and his voice faltered. Those eyes, so like Percy's, under hair just as thick and dark and messy, were so different, so full of rage and defiance, they knew then why Poseidon had wished them 'good luck'. "Louisa, please. Let us explain. Sally had no choice, no idea-"

"Sally?" Louisa shook her head, turned away and threw her hands up. "No. I don't care. Go away." She went into another room, presumably her bedroom. Jessica stood.

"Let me talk to her. Just... wait here, she's... she's struggled with this for a few years." Jessica went after Louisa, knocking on her door and poking her round. "Louisa?" She went in, closing the door quietly behind her. Grover tipped his head to the left, listening intently. "Louisa." Jessica sat on the end of her daughter's bed. "I know it's alot to take in, but you always wanted to know where you came from."

"The ocean." Louisa grumbled. "Poseidon. You. I don't care about anythin' else."

"If you're worried about upsetting me, don't be."

"I'm not gonna see her."

"If you see her, I won't automatically assume you'll want to go and live with her."

"I don't."

"Just... Louisa, you don't know what it's like as a mother. This... Sally, she only had half of what was given to her and it must have _killed_ her, knowing that her twins were growing up without each other. She must have been so worried about you, not knowing anything about your childhood, having no input, no insight, nothing. From what they've told me, she named you and that was it." When Louisa's scowl deepened, Jessica sighed. "Imagine if... if I left you one day, no explanation, no reason, no nothing. Just, poof, gone. How would you feel?"

"I'd find you."

"If you couldn't?" Louisa hummed dubiously. "Exactly. Even if you just go... for an hour, not even that. Just to get some answers. I'm sure you'd feel better. And, besides, you've got a brother! It's not his fault, he wasn't much older, much younger than you. I don't know which of you was born first, sorry. But you've got nothing to hold against him, what harm could there be in saying hello?" A tick worked in Louisa's jaw. Jessica reached out and covered her hand with her own. "Do it for me."

"Why?"

"Because I kind of want to meet them too, I'm curious. Please? We won't have to stay long if you don't want to, I'm sure they'll understand that."

"Fine. An hour." Jessica smiled.

"Attagirl."

"For the record, I ain't happy."

"Granted."


	8. Chapter 8

Sally was laughing when she answered the door; "You won't believe what this idiot's done now." She beamed, waving Annabeth and Grover in. They found Percy in the kitchen, sat on the floor with his arms crossed and sulking. Covered in flour, eggs, butter and probably the rest of the kitchen too. Annabeth snapped a quick picture while Grover doubled over, snorting. Percy stuck his tongue out, the minor jolt of his head sending down a dusting of flour.

"Ew, pleh." He spat, blowing a raspberry. He helped himself up and marched out, head held high. "Hey, Mom? Why are there strange people in our living room?"

"What?" Sally's mirth died down and she grabbed the rolling pin from the side.

"No, wait!" Grover hopped out, ditched the crutches and placed himself between Percy and the 'strange people'. "Wait, wait, wait!" He coughed. "Percy, go and have a shower, you're making flour clouds."

"Who are they, who are you?" Sally still had her rolling pin, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her son. Annabeth appeared, touching Sally's shoulder and nodding towards the company. The rolling pin fell to the floor. Percy looked down at the thud, raining a glob of butter and egg amongst more flour. "What's going on?" He asked his mother. Sally said nothing. Percy followed her gaze.

A blonde, blue-eyed woman a few years younger than Sally stood closer to them than the shorter, raven-haired girl. The blonde was dressed part-smartly, part-casually, like she was going for a good social event somewhere, smart black jeans and a pastel blue blouse that seemed to float in the air around her, hair tidied into a braided bun. When Percy shot her a befuddled look, she bit her lip and took the arm of the girl behind her, dragging her forward. They glared at each challengingly, the younger one dressed far less tidy, simple tracksuit bottoms and an unmarked red hoodie. She folded her arms stubbornly over her chest and faced them, high ponytail flicking over her shoulder.

Percy took a step back when he saw her eyes. "Mom?"

"Louisa?" Sally breathed. She gripped her son's arm, feeling light-hearted.

"Mom." Percy said again, brow creasing at the tears in her eyes. "Mom? Who are you?" He demanded, frowning at the strange pair, hand going to his pocket.

"Percy, no." Sally squeaked, pulling on his arm. "I... let me just..." Sally found her feet and stumbled forward, cautious. The girl was barely shoulder-height to her. "Louisa?" Sally repeated. The blonde pinched her companion's arm and gave her a warning look.

"Yeah." Louisa muttered. Sally sobbed, hands flying to her face. She made to reach for Louisa, hesitated and drew back. Another prompt from the blonde. "Hi." Sally reached out again, touching Louisa's cheek tentatively. Another sob- she was _real_ \- and Sally held her face in both hands, brushing stray flicks of hair from her forehead, examining every contour of her face, her eyes. She was real.

"Annabeth, what's going on?" Percy hissed, poking his girlfriend's arm. Annabeth futilely wiped butter from his cheek and encouraged him forward with a nod. At her son's approach, Sally looked over her shoulder, smiling and crying. Percy held her by the elbow and she took him by the wrist, joining his hand with this Louisa's.

"Percy. This is your sister."


	9. Chapter 9

A spark shot up Louisa's arm and she recoiled. Percy did too, hissing and shedding flour again.

"Ow! What was _that_?"

"I don't know."

"Wait, sister?"

"Bit slow, ain't ya?"

"Well, it's not every day I find out I have a sister, a _sister_. This is just my luck to be a flipping unbaked cake the day I get a sist- Mom, I'm really confused, what's going on?" Sally took a deep breath, wiping at her eyes. When she spoke, it was quickly, gaze flicking back and forth.

"OK, Percy. Louisa. You're twins. I... Poseidon took Louisa a couple of hours after you were born. I had no idea he was going to do that, I was asleep when he took you from your crib. I woke up to find Percy and a note. I wasn't allowed to tell you anything, I was just meant to let this slide. I tried finding you, I really did, but when strange things started happening to Percy, I didn't push my luck. The last straw was that snake in the cot-"

"What?"

"I strangled a snake."

"What kind of crazy-ass baby were you?"

"Demigod."

"Ugh."

"So, I stopped searching directly, I just prayed to all the gods I could think of that you were alright, you... you were alright, weren't you?"

"Define alright." Louisa grumbled. Sally pressed her lips together worriedly, eyes fixated on her daughter. Percy tapped her on the shoulder.

"Are you- who are you?"

"I'm Jessica."

"Was this your _errands_?" Percy asked, turning back to his friends. They nodded, Annabeth recording the whole thing on her phone. "I worry about you two sometimes." He looked to Jessica again. "Without sounding rude or anything, but _who_ are you?"

"I'm Jessica Smith. I... I adopted Louisa when she was nine." Sally looked a little relieved at that. Louisa's temper sparked. "Lou-" Jessica started.

"No. You think she adopted me straight from an orphanage, don't ya?" She demanded. "No, she didn't. Let's give a few highlights, _shall we_? I ran from an orphanage when I was _five_ , Jessica didn't find me until I was _nine_. I spent _four goddamn freakin' years_ out there 'n' I'm supposed to be happy with ya _prayin'_ for me? Oh, eveythin' that's holy as fuck, I feel the love, I really do! I was chased by monsters every day, I taught myself how ta fight, how ta hunt, how ta get away from nosy-ass mortals 'n' monsters 'n' the occasional angry god, heck there was even a fuckin' _Titan_ at one point, but you were _prayin_ ' for me. Thanks. Really appreciate it. Don't you start." She warned Percy, hand flying to her watch. A sword materialised in her left hand, tip pressed to her brother's throat in a second.

"Louisa!" Jessica reprimanded. "You said you wouldn't do this!"

"I tried." Louisa growled. Percy pulled a pen from his pocket, a wary eye on this new threat. Sally was crying quietly. He pushed the lid off with his thumb and Riptide grew in his hand. They glared at each other, not noticing the others staring at the blades.

"They're identical." Grover voiced.

"Although, hers is a bit of a strange colour."

"It's an alloy." Jessica explained.

"Not steel?"

"Oh please." Louisa scoffed. "I've got other, less important weapons for mortal shitbags."

"Not all mortals are bad." Percy protested.

"Notice I said _shitbags_." She dug the point a little deeper, a scarlet dribble cutting through the flour. Percy didn't even flinch, placing her in a similar, less bloody position.

"No, don't!" Sally pleaded. Louisa's glare fixed on her, grip tightening on the handle of her blade. "I understand why you're angry, but please, don't hurt Percy."

"Angry, she says. I'm _angry_ , am I? Do you have _any_ idea what I had to go through 'cos ya had to protect precious _Percy_? I was alone- _alone for nine years_ 'n' ya think _angry_ covers it? Didn't matter that I spent five years in an _orphanage_ fightin' all the kids that thought they could scare me, could bully me into bein' another pushover, didn't matter that I spent four years runnin' from monsters 'n' gods 'n' Titans, no! Of course it didn't! Not as long as your had fuckin' precious _Percy_ 'n' _prayin'_! I thought findin' my birth mother would fix _everythin'_ , I thought I'd have a home, thought I'd be _safe_ , but no! No, no, no, of course not! Why would I fuckin' matter?"

"Stop." Percy warned her.

"You stay out of it."

"Bit hard when you're trying to stab me."

"If I wanted to stab you, _you'd be dead already, now stay out of it_!" Percy's jaw clenched defiantly. Louisa's did likewise and she moved faster than any of them expected. She shoved Riptide down and kicked out. There was a sharp crack of bone and Percy fell with a pained yell. Annabeth drew a knife and Grover started to play his pipes hurriedly. Louisa seemed dazed for a second as the music swarmed her ears; she gritted her teeth and shook her head, throwing out her free hand. A knife shot from her sleeve and shattered Grover's pipes right out of his hands.

Jessica put herself between Louisa and the others. Annabeth and Grover dragged Percy back together, him groaning and turning green-grey under the flour mess.

"Louisa." Jessica said firmly.

"What?" She snarled.

"You are beyond angry. You're upset, you feel betrayed, abandoned, hurt, it's all there, I know it is. But there is no need for any of this. This can all be talked through without you having to lose your temper, you know that."

"Because talkin' fixes _everythin'_ , how stupid of me to forget."

"She had no choice, Louisa! Poseidon took you, be angry at him, not your mother-"

"She's not my mother! She never was 'n' she never will be!" Louisa turned furiously on her heel and stormed out, the door slamming behind her. Sally crumpled where she stood. Percy tried to get to her, but his friends were still encouraging his leg to heal.

"Sally, I'm... I'm sorry." Jessica said, crouching beside her. "I don't want to be caught in the middle of this, I was just doing what I thought was right at the time and I still think it was right now. But Louisa... she's never been very good at explaining herself, she's-"

"She's right." Sally choked. "I'm not her mother."

"None of this was your fault."

"I should have fought harder for her."

"But you would have risked your other one. What if that hadn't worked? You may have ended up without either of them, _it's not your fault._ Don't do this to yourself, Sally. The past can't be changed, no matter how many gods are in the sky. Louisa has been running her whole life, even when she came to live with me." Sally shook her head, not believing it. Jessica squeezed her shoulder. "Lou can say some... very hurtful things when she's in one of her tempers. I should have taken her watch, I knew she would do something like this, I just hoped... I hoped things would take a different course, I really did. I wanted this to go well for all of you and... it's just a disaster." Thunder boomed outside and Jessica shot to her feet. "Oh no."

"What?" Annabeth asked furiously.

"Oooh, she's gone after Poseidon."

"Is she _mad_?"

"You've known her five minutes, the second she's got something in her head, it's not going to budge. Grover, help Sally. I... I need to find her."

"You can't if she's at the bottom of the ocean."

"I have to try and stop her." More thunder. Jessica brushed her fingertips over her lips nervously.

"How do you know this?" Annabeth tied a splint to Percy's leg and he hissed with pain. Grover fed him a square of ambrosia before sidling to Sally's side.

"Louisa... probably has more contact with her dad than allowed, but... it's not always good. She's... looking for a fight. I have to go, but I'll fix this, I promise."


	10. Chapter 10

It wasn't difficult to find Louisa. Not difficult considering you were capable of breathing underwater and withstanding extreme pressure, which Percy was. When Jessica said Louisa was after their dad, it only really made sense she would go straight to him rather than have someone stop her. Percy would have done the same thing had their roles been reversed; he had his own questions for Poseidon.

A playful shark guided him to Atlantis, suddenly empty of other sea life. Percy made his way to the throne room, the currents sharper and angrier than he had ever seen them. Poseidon was sat in his throne, looking ten years older and very weary, trident hanging loosely in his hand and slumping. Louisa stood before him, ranting incessantly, slipping between English and Greek. The god looked up as Percy approached, giving a tired smile. Louisa glowered at him, called him a few choice names.

"Louisa." Poseidon said sharply. "You have no need to be mad at Percy or Sally, they have done nothing wrong."

"Prayin'." Louisa spat. "Fat lot of good that did me."

"There wasn't much else she could do."

"Why take me?" Louisa demanded. "Why not him, why take me at all, why not just leave a good thing be?"

"The Fates-"

"Ooh, 'cos they're _great_."

"Louisa, do not insult them. I took you because you would- _are_ the most destructive. Percy, don't look at me like that, you didn't mean to destroy the bridge, not really." Percy hunched his shoulders. "You both have great potential for destruction, it's in your blood, but- as twins- you represent the two sides of my domain. Calm," He gestured to Percy, "and stormy." To Louisa. "And I apologise that you are like that, but had you two grown up together, your powers and abilities would have clashed repeatedly. It was best you grew up apart, learnt to control your powers as you matured."

"What was that weird shock thing earlier?" Percy asked, lifting his right hand a fraction. Louisa looked at her left with a frown.

"That was recognition. You two have no idea how many times your paths had crossed, how many times you've been so close and so far apart. Being reunited has sparked the connection you two should have shared since birth. For example, if one of you becomes ill or hurt, the other will know."

"Oh, great." Louisa muttered. Percy pinched his left arm experimentally, her own twitching. She glared at him. "If I punched him in the face, how much of it would I feel?"

"Don't fight." Poseidon ordered. "Percy, I must warn you that Louisa has bouts of temper, as you may have noticed-"

"My leg still hurts."

"-and sometimes this triggers her powers, so you may need to step in to make sure nothing goes seriously wrong. Louisa, Percy has a few... confidence issues with his powers." Louisa looked at Percy questioningly.

"People get hurt when I use them." Percy said quietly. "I'd rather not."

"Teach him to use them with and without his emotions, but for the love of the gods, don't kill anyone. And apologise to Sally. She meant well, she was only trying to get to know you."

"Besides," Percy interjected with a smile, "you haven't had Mom's cooking yet." Louisa hummed, flipping a glare to her father.

"I ain't happy with you."

"I know."

"So ya ain't gonna blast me if I do this then, are ya?" Louisa made an obscence hand gesture; Sally would have had Percy's hands for that, but Poseidon just sighed and shook his head. "You'll be gettin' an official letter of complaint too."

"Mind if I add a few words?"

"As long as they're very rude, ta the point 'n' condescendin' as _hell_."

"Maybe not condescending... Dad has already nearly blasted me."

"Why?"

"I sat in his seat."

"Oh, boo hoo."

"Go away." Poseidon said. "Apologise to Sally," he reminded his daughter, "don't fight and help each other out. I'll be keeping an eye on things, so if you start fighting, I'll be sending in the reinforcements."

"Ahhh, Bob the Shark!" Louisa exclaimed happily. "I love Bob!"

"No, not Bob."

"Oooohhhh..." Louisa pouted. "But I love Bob."


	11. Chapter 11

Jessica took the weather calming down as a good sign. Ten minutes later, Percy and Louisa walked in the front, Percy talking animatedly, Louisa making sure his head didn't explode. "Seriously, do _not_ stand between Grover and enchiladas, that is a one-way ticket to the Underworld." Louisa shot a curious look to the satyr. He was serving tea to the women around the table, sweeping up Sally's tissues and giving her a fresh box. Louisa stopped short, pressing her lips together hesitantly. "Go on." Percy encouraged quietly, giving his sister a small prod in the back- _his sister, his sister!-_ and smiled. "We can talk this out." He kept poking her until her glower returned and she was sat in a seat next to Jessica. "Mom, Lou has something she wants to say."

"I'm sorry. I... didn't mean what I said earlier, I was... angry, but... I was angry at Dad, not you, I'm sorry." Sally sniffed. Louisa glanced at Jessica, who nodded encouragingly. "You're my, uh, my birth mom 'n' I get that ya wanna, um, wanna get to know me 'n' all, but I can't... I'm sorry, I'm not sayin' this outta spite, but she's my mom, she took me in when no-one else would 'n'... if it's alright with you, I want it to stay like that, but I can come 'n' visit, I won't... be mad at you 'n' I... hope ya ain't mad at me, I never meant to upset you or hurt Percy, I just... flipped out 'n' I don't always think, I just... oh, Dad was right, we'd have killed each other growin' up together."

"Agreed." Percy said, relaying what Poseidon had told them. "And we're going to write him a very angry letter of complaint."

"You seem to be taking this very light-hearted." Annabeth noted.

"Trust me, I'm freaking out."

"I'm glad I ain't the only one." Louisa bit her lip, looking worriedly at Sally. Sally was watching her, eyes still swimming with tears, red and puffy. Jessica touched her arm and whispered something to her; Sally gave a small smile.

"It's OK."

"Ya ain't mad?"

"No. I understand. I never really knew my own parents. If I was to talk to them now, I'd probably say something similar, I'd yell at them too, but I wouldn't break their leg."

"Is your leg OK?"

"It's good. Ambrosia, ocean, it's all good. There will be payback though." Sally stood. Louisa did too.

"I won't lie. I'm hurt. I was hurt. But it's not the be-all and end-all. I understand why you see Jessica as your mother and I won't take that away from, I have no right, it won't be fair on you or Jessica, I'm not that cruel."

"You turned a man into a statue." Percy muttered.

"Whoa, _what_?"

"He had it coming. I'll explain later." Sally offered her hand. Louisa took it. "It's nice to finally meet you, Louisa. I hope we can start over a little better."

"Me too. But don't turn me into a statue."

"I'll try not to."


	12. Chapter 12

**To Lola143- Thank you! Here's some more! :D**

* * *

Louisa and Percy got on like a house on fire. They also fought like a couple of badgers, but this was sixteen years of sibling rivalry to catch up on. They took turns going to the other's home; the day after the reunion, Sally and Percy went to the Smiths. Annabeth and Grover had, as Percy said, earned themselves a day off. They reported back to Chiron and vanished- Annabeth went straight to the library and Grover feasted on enchiladas. The twins, however, went back and forth, finding common ground in Mario Kart.

This was how Paul met Louisa.

He had been working particularly late and hard this past week and was all but dead on his feet; the latest course of events didn't quite register with him until the Friday.

"No, you're cheating!" Percy accused. "How are you doing that?" Louisa cackled victoriously, bouncing in her seat, wicked grin in place. Percy crashed through an item box, "please mushrooms, please mushrooms, please mush- star! Yes! Aaah, rainbow power, go! Go go go go go!" He encouraged his avatar. Up through sixth, fifth, fourth, third, gaining on second, Louisa was first. Percy shot a sidelong look at her, threw out a hand to try and distract her.

"No!" She flopped onto her side, pushing her foot against his side. "That's cheatin', don't ya dare!" Percy put his weight on her legs, she tried to pull them free and slipped, ending upside down. She swore colourfully, squirming her feet. He laughed and wiggled, laughing moreso as she struggled to adjust to the new dimensions. She still crossed the finish line, Percy accidentally crashing into her as she veered right instead of left- he bumped her over the line. "Yes!" She declared victoriously.

"No!" Percy protested at the same time, throwing himself back into a slouch, defeated for the eighteenth time in a row. Louisa fell to the floor entirely with a thump, taking a moment to get her bearings. She was on her feet in a second.

"Ha! Mario Kart Queen, boosh! Suck it, loser!" She dumped her control in his lap and clapped, victory dance in session.

"Oh my gods, there's another one." Louisa froze and turned. A man stood in the doorway, salt and pepper hair, disheveled suit, aghast expression. Percy smiled and called out a greeting.

"Lou, this is Paul, my stepdad. Paul, this is my sister, Louisa." Paul looked from one to the other, taking in the dark hair, the tanned skin, sea-green eyes. He could see Sally in Louisa, the build, the face shape, but there was also elements of Percy, of Poseidon.

"Twins." He breathed. " _Twins_? Where's your mother? Actually, no, no, I think I need to lie down." Percy jumped to his feet and helped his stepfather to his room. He fetched Sally who immediately went in to explain.

"He's still adjusting to demigods and such. You're not learning to drive, are you? He's kind of banned me from the car when the second Pegasus crashed into it."

"What?"

"Mm. Blackjack landed on the hood before the end of the world, you can still see the dents his hooves left now. The second one, Porkpie, he... got a little excited when I was driving along the beach and sort of crash-landed on the roof. He apologised for it, many times, but I think a few things got lost in the translation."

"You can talk to pegasi too?"

"Oh, yeah. And horses, zebras, all kinds of sea creatures... you?" She nodded, rubbing her fingers together thoughtfully. "Blackjack is my Pegasus."

"I've got one. Storm. She comes 'n' goes, but... she's around when I call, it's nice."

"I'd like to meet this Storm."

"Ditto. Uh, Blackjack though."

"He might ask you for doughnuts. Don't give into him, he'll have already had a box." She smiled faintly, looking round. Sally appeared a second later, highly amused. "Mom, Lou can talk to horses and that too." Sally smiled. "But she still won't let me win." Percy pouted.

"You big baby." Louisa retorted before Sally got a word in edgeways. "We've already has this conversation, I'm Mario Kart Queen. Ain't no-one beat me." Louisa said proudly, hand on heart. Percy continued to sulk so she simply stuck her tongue out. "Deal with it." She started patting her pockets and hummed. Checked her wrist and frowned, running a thumb over the strap of her watch.

"Are you alright?" Sally asked kindly.

"Yes. I just... can I borrow ya phone please?" Sally nodded and pointed. Louisa crossed the room, punching in a number, twisting the cord around her finger while it rang. She turned her back on them slightly, talking quietly. Sally touched her son's shoulder.

"Everything alright?"

"I think so. I feel buzzy."

"Buzzy?"

"Mm. I think she's worried about something. You know, this twin connection thing has completely thrown me. She's so confusing. One minute, she's kicking my ass at Mario Kart and victory dancing, the next she's..." He nodded at his sister. She was listening to the other end, shoulders relaxing a second later. Percy rubbed at his forehead. "Not buzzy." He informed. "This is going to take some getting used to."

"I've just realised somethin'." Louisa said, placing the phone in the cradle. "I've met your friends. Ya ain't met mine."

"Oh?" Percy sat up a little straighter. "Demigods?"

"No. Mortals. I've known 'em for a few years, met 'em at school. Bunch of asshats, but I suppose they're alright." She shrugged.

"What school do you go to?" Louisa told them and Sally laughed. "Percy got kicked out of there after three weeks! How have you stayed so long?"

"The principal loves me, I'm his favourite."

"Sounds a bit fatheaded." Percy muttered. "And I didn't get _kicked out_ , it was a mutual agreement that I left."

"You blew up the chemistry lab."

"That was _you_?"

"No! It was that... uh, what's his name? Daryll or something."

"In the lower class?" Percy nodded. Louisa snorted. "Ah, I know Daryll. Still a tosspot. No wonder we never met though, our classes clashed. How'd ya blow the lab up though?"

"I can't chemistry."

"Ya can't English either." Louisa pointed out with a playful grin. "Seriously though, Saturday. I'll get Mike to kick Dylan outta bed for eleven?" Percy nodded. "Awesome. Ya payin' for McDonalds."

"Why?"

"'Cos."

"You can pay for yourself."

"No."

"Go hungry then."


	13. Chapter 13

Percy brought Annabeth and Grover with him to meet Louisa's friends. He _did_ pay for Louisa's lunch in the end, because she kept stealing his nuggets and he _hated_ sharing his chicken nuggets. He got her a Happy Meal and kept the twenty chicken nuggets to himself no matter how much she complained she was still hungry. Her friends fed her instead, used to this routine. Dylan and Connor, freakishly lookalikes, were not at all related, despite both having strawberry blond hair with grey eyes- not grey, like Annabeth's, but grey like slushed snow. They were almost as tall as Percy, built rather sporty, but admittedly very lazy. Mikey, the third friend, was two inches taller than Louisa- something he was very proud of- making up for his lack of height with an abundance of energy and cheekiness. Sandy blond hair tousled as though he had just scrambled from bed and the warmest hazel eyes they had ever seen. He was bouncing with innocent, child-like behaviour in his seat, beaming at Percy.

"It's so cool Lou has a brother! Like, we're her brothers, but you're her blood brother, but we were here first, dude, no offense, we got dibs-"

"Ya can't call dibs on me-"

"Watch me." Louisa squeezed a curry sauce pot and it exploded all over Mikey's crisp white shirt. "No! This is _new_! I was going for good first impressions and now I smell like a curry!"

"Mikey, stop flapping." Connor said, handing over a wad of napkins. Dylan just snickered. "You're going to have to ignore Mike sometimes, he's a bit eccentric."

"Oh, we've got one of them too." Annabeth laughed, nodding at her boyfriend. She rummaged in her bag and passed a small vial forwards. "Here, diluted nectar. It works great at getting all sorts of stains out of anything, just don't drink it, OK? Or get it on your skin, I'm not sure how mortal skin reacts to nectar." Mikey beamed and thanked her, eyeing Percy sidelong.

"Mikey, no." Dylan warned. "We've gone over this, he's got a girlfriend."

"I know. They're both cute." Mikey waggled his fingers flirtatiously. His friends sighed and shook their heads.

"I forgot to tell ya; Mikey's bi."

"More love for everyone!"

"And very proud of it." Connor added, sipping at his milkshake. Mikey's attention had diverted to Grover, who was picking anxiously at his napkin. He opened his mouth to speak and three hands shot out to shut him up. "No. Stop flirting for five seconds, I will pay you." Mikey shook his head, gaining freedom.

"You're just upset that you're not my type."

"You don't have a type, Mikey."

"Well, I must have, because it certainly isn't you."

"Lou, where the hell did you find these clowns?" Annabeth laughed. "I just want to put Mikey in my pocket and take him home." Percy frowned. "Oh, don't be like that. He's like a teddy bear, look at his floofy hair!"

"Condition first, sweetheart." Mikey grinned, ecstatic someone had noticed the effort he had put in.

"He doesn't come with an off-switch, does he?" Percy tried.

"We'd have found it by now otherwise." Dylan shook his head. "You learn to live with it. Lou got Mikey in the group and, well, here he is. Hard not to miss him. I'm amazed he dressed relatively sensible for a change though, what happened to your Hawaiian print scheme?"

"I can't wear Hawaiian print to something as important as this! I needed to be classy!"

"To come to McDonalds?"

"To meet Louisa's brother!"

"Eh, he ain't worth the effort."

"Rude!"

"Aaah, sibling rivalry!"

"Shut up, Mikey." Dylan and Connor chimed, so easily and together, it was like they had done it for years. Annabeth and Grover laughed. Percy and Louisa had slipped into an insult game/staring contest- _twonk/asshat/banshee/fugly-_ the staring contest didn't last long.

"So, do you have any twin things? Lou told us about that sparky connection thing." Connor picked at his fries.

"I think we're picking up on each other's emotions."

"Yeah, that's great. Now I'm constantly hungry 'n' thinkin' of Annabeth. No offense, Blondie, ya ain't my type."

"Lou's type has a great sense of humour, great hair, imaginative and creative and up for a good banter match." Mikey deduced. "Unfortunately, she's far too stubborn to let me set her up, I know this really great guy _perfect_ for you-"

"Not interested, a thousand times over, _not ever interested_."

"Oh, you will be." Mikey nodded. "He's out there and I'm going to find him."

"'N' how'd ya know you ain't gonna love him?"

"Because I respect my friends and I already have someone."

"Oh gods, who?"

"Dylan O'Brien." The other three groaned as one in varying degrees of defeat- Dylan slumped in his seat, Connor put his head in his hands and Louisa took the last of Mikey's burger. "What? He's hot. He's nose is a bit off, but still..."

"I worry about you." Grover said.

"Don't! I'm lovable! Do you have a girlfriend?" Grover nodded, going a little pink when Mikey gasped excitedly and started badgering him. Louisa took care of this, spooning the ice from her drink with her fingers and tipping it down the back of Mikey's shirt. He squealed and bounced, writhing and complaining. "Cold! Ooh, cold and sticky! Louisa! You're _mean_ , ooh, it's really _cold_! Mean Louisa, _mean_!"

"I'm surprised ya hadn't noticed before."

* * *

 **If any of you have any requests from the Four Word Prompts list, let me know! ^_^**


	14. Chapter 14

**To hello- Poseidon didn't take Louisa away to live with him, he put her in a mortal orphanage where she spent five years not knowing who she was and I'm pretty sure it said in the books once a demigod figures out that they are a demigod, their scent gets stronger or something like that. So, when Lou ran from the orphanage when she was five, Poseidon helped her, but didn't let on that she was a demigod, so her scent wasn't** _ **as**_ **strong, Lou just figured she was magic, until she got a bit older and started asking questions and it slowly came together, which was when she turned nine and there was a big hulabaloo and she met Jessica who went on to adopt her. Admittedly the mortal neighbours didn't** _ **entirely**_ **mask Lou's scent, but it helped a bit, she had more trouble while she was out and about. It's not really a plot hole, more of a disorganised mess, it's all been explained in various fanfictions and I can't really remember all the details, but it's there somewhere. And don't worry, you haven't offended me, just mildly confused, but that's nothing new, I spend my entire life in a constant state of confusion ^_^**

* * *

The following day, Jessica told Louisa she had a training course that was going to take her out of town. "Now, I know you could stay here and look after yourself, but Sally offered for you to stay over there while I'm away. That way, you can spend a bit more time with them- don't pull that face, I know how much love tormenting your brother."

"He's such a sore loser." Louisa grinned victoriously. Jessica shook her head, trying not to smile and failing. Louisa toyed with her watch. "How long ya gonna be away for?"

"Four days."

"Oh."

"I leave tomorrow morning."

"That's a bit short notice, ain't it?"

"Yes, but if I do this, I can get better pay. Imagine all the extra hot dogs." She prompted when Louisa didn't look impressed.

"Keep talkin'." Louisa insisted.

"It's just four days, it'll go by in a flash. And I know that staying with Sally and Percy might risk more monsters because, from what Grover's told me, you two together _really_ stinks of demigod. I've no idea what a demigod smells like." Jessica added as Louisa stuck her tongue out. "But I'm sure you two can manage and it'll be fun. Think of it as a sleepover. And if Percy snores, you could put a pillow over his face or something- no, that was a joke, don't take that seriously. Oh gods, what have I done?"

"You raised a monster."

"I sure have." Jessica sighed, running a hand over her face. "Will you go?"

"Do I have ta go for all four days?"

"Not if you don't want to; I've talked to Sally and she said she'll understand if you don't."

"She makes really nice fudge though. Blue, but nice."

"What is it with all that blue food, I've been meaning to ask?" Louisa shrugged. "You're a gold mine of information." Jessica shook her head. Louisa's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"You stole my sarcasm."

"What can I say? It's infectious." Jessica smiled sweetly. Louisa gave a dubious hum. "Are you going or not? I need to let Sally know."

"I'll go. But if I don't like it, I'm comin' straight home."

"Deal."

* * *

Jessica dropped Louisa off before she had to go. Percy was sat on the doorstep, flicking through a Marvel comic, when she arrived. He smiled when he noticed her, holding up his hand. Louisa pulled him to his feet, called him a heffalump and followed him inside. As usual, his home smelt of baked goods with an underlying scent of melting chocolate and lemon. Sally was bustling about the kitchen, the counters deeply hidden under plates of cookies, cakes, fudge, bread and shortbread- all blue.

"Mom, Lou's here." Sally stopped and whirled round, beaming.

"Hi!"

"She's been up since about four making all this." Percy said with a vague hand wave at his mother's baking. "Good job I'm hungry." He grinned, helping himself to a plate of cookies. Louisa took a handful of fudge, eyeing all the creations curiously.

"What?" Sally asked, smile fading.

"Why blue?"

"Oh!" Sally relaxed slightly, giving a nervous laugh. She had flour on her nose and some in her hair. "Well, Percy's first stepfather-"

"Smelly Gabe."

"Yes. He said there was no such thing as blue food, blue being Percy's favourite colour."

"And Mom being Mom went out of her way to buy and make all the blue food she could." Percy said around a mouthful. Sally tutted and flicked him with the tee towel.

"Smelly Gabe?" Louisa asked.

"My first husband." Sally's nose wrinkled. "He was a horrible, disgusting bastard, excuse my language," Sally brushed her hair behind her ear, ignoring Percy gawping at her, "but very accurately nicknamed. Oh, he _stunk_. It kept the monsters away from Percy though, or at least, it did for a while. They still found him when he was twelve." Louisa wasn't looking at her birth mother, drumming her fingers on the edge of the counter. "But he's gone now, you won't ever have to meet him."

"He hurt you."

"I... I'm sorry?" Sally did a double-take, glancing at her son. Percy shook his head- he hadn't told anything to Louisa except that Gabe had been so foul, even the Fields of Punishment would have spat him back out.

"It's just the way ya talk about him." Louisa elaborated. "He hurt you. A lot." Sally stayed quiet, wringing her hands. Percy swallowed his mouthful.

"Like Mom said though, he's gone now. I'll give him some credit though- if you hadn't sold him, we'd never have got this place."

"Wait, what?" Louisa turned to Sally, eyes wide and demanding answers. Sally shone a rather proud and slightly bashful smile at her.

"I turned him into a statue."

"That was _him_? Tell!"

"Well, there's not much to it, but on Percy's first quest, he encountered Medusa. He sent her head to the gods and they sent it back when he came home. Even though it was just her head, it still worked. I don't have the head now, don't worry." Louisa let out a small breath and Sally's smile brightened. "Although, I can't help but wonder what would have happened had you met him."

"Trust me, he wouldn't have lasted lo- oh my gods, these are _amazin'_." Louisa had started picking at blue food from the other plates. "Ya ain't tryin' ta fatten me up while I'm here, are ya?"

"No."

"Somehow, I ain't convinced, but ta hell with it." Louisa shrugged. Sally smiled once more, startled by the timer blaring. Louisa stepped to one side as Sally pulled another tray of blue cookies from the oven.

"Last batch." She nodded, tipping the cookies on a cooling rack and quickly poking them away from each other. "What's your favourite colour, Lou?"

"Red." Louisa managed. Percy hissed and turned away. Louisa bounced a bit of fudge off the back of his head and then wailed. "I wanted ta eat that!"

"You shouldn't have thrown it at me then!"

"You shouldn't have been such an ass then!" They regarded each other defiantly for a moment and then simultaneously said, "Fight me."

"Oh, this is going to be fun." Sally shook her head, still smiling.

* * *

 **If you've got any requests from the Four Word Prompts list, let me know!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Bit of a short chapter today, sorry!**

* * *

Percy and Louisa spent the first day gorging themselves on Sally's cooking and watching old Disney classics, bickering over who should have Stitch- _he's blue and adorable, he should be mine!/ he's a pain in the ass with a red space ship, he should be mine!-_ and eventually falling asleep at either end of the sofa. Percy fell asleep on his front, one hand brushing the carpet. Louisa fell asleep on her side. Their legs lay one on top of the other between them, but they seemed comfortable enough so Sally left them be, switching the television off and gathering rubbish and DVD cases.

Louisa talked in her sleep. At first, Sally was confused, because she was talking in Ancient Greek. She switched to English not long after, mumbling about Smurfs. All the blue must have thrown her as she kept half-heartedly swatting at things in her face and muttering swear words. She woke up after an hour of this, grumbling and rolling onto her other side. Percy stirred but didn't wake. Sally dug out the biggest blanket she could find and threw it over both of them, seeing Louisa had returned to sleep. She was even drooling a little.

Sally reclined in her armchair, picking up her novel- _The Kind Worth Killing_ by Peter Swanson- and settling down to read, legs tucked under her. Every now and then, she would glance up at her twins- _her twins!-_ and smile, feeling like everything was falling into place, a breath of fresh air and the weight of the world from her shoulders, like everything was whole. She had both of them, to herself, even if it was just for four days, and she couldn't be happier. Louisa could have straight up rejected this whole idea- Sally had a sneaky suspicion she had been bribed with fudge- but she didn't.

It was a fantastic opportunity for Sally. She had been watching Louisa on her visits, observing her behaviour, listening to her rant- she was full of things to rant about- watching how she and Percy interacted, but her favourite thing to watch out for was the similarities between them. Even though they had grown up apart, they were there and Sally _loved_ seeing them. From the drooling in their sleep, to flailing their arms and talking with their hands alot, the mess they could make simply sitting and watching films all day, the fact that they were very defensive of their favourite colours, fought like siblings, both very, _very_ competitive- it warmed Sally right to the core to see them together at last.

Percy mumbled something about crackers and made a face. Louisa groaned and kicked him under the blanket, muttering something that sounded rather like _shut up_. Sally smiled. She was rather looking forward to these four days.


	16. Chapter 16

Louisa was _not_ a morning person. Sally was up early, not as early as yesterday, but still somewhat early, tidying. The twins had stayed nestled on the couch; Sally found them both lying on their sides this morning, one arm bent up and over their heads, drooling mirror images of each other. Louisa woke first though. Jessica had told Sally that Louisa could and would wake to most things, having had to sleep when and where she could while on the run from monsters. Despite this and with no immediate danger, Louisa stayed awake, groggy. Her eyes were glassy, expression crumpled slightly with irritation, trying to figure out what had woken her. When she saw Sally, she relaxed slightly and dragged the back of her hand across her cheek.

She must have been caught on Percy or the blankets though as, when she tried to stand, Louisa toppled straight over, leg stuck on the couch. Percy woke to the thud, his pen in hand.

"Wazzat?" He asked sleepily, sitting up.

"Ow." Louisa groaned. Percy saw her on the floor, puzzling- _how did she get down there?_ \- and Louisa made no attempt to get up. She managed to free her leg and then just lay on the floor, turning her head to stare blearily at Sally. She slurred something, at first Sally thought she said _Mormon_ and then realised she meant _morning_.

"Coffee?" Sally offered. Louisa hummed, words and thoughts sluggish. Assessing her position on the floor, she figured she may as well stay here; dozing when Sally returned with her drink. Percy had pushed the blanket off of him and onto his sister, trudging off to take a shower. "When he's done, you can go and clean up if you want." Sally nodded at the bathroom door. Louisa rolled onto her side and pushed herself up, eyes closed with fatigue. "Are you alright?"

"'M fine." She mumbled. "Early." A tremor of complaint in her tone and she squinted at Sally. "Why early?"

"I'm always up early."

"No likey."

"No?"

"No." Louisa reached for her coffee, missing the mug by miles and scraping her knuckles on the corner of the coffe table. She hissed, more annoyed than hurt, trying again. Her hand thumped the surface, quickly followed by her head. She groaned in annoyance. "No." She repeated, shoulders sagging defeatedly.

"Try counting. It helps wake the brain up. If that doesn't work, hold your breath until you feel like you can't hold it anymore; that increases your heartrate and gets the blood flowing."

"M'kay."

By the time Sally had guided Louisa to her coffee, Percy was out of the shower and much more alert. Water did that to him. He smiled at his mother, casting a bemused look over his sister.

"Doesn't like early mornings."

"No likey." Louisa mumbled, sipping tiresomely at her beverage. "No, no, nope."

"You're going to love staying here then." Percy grinned. Louisa's brow furrowed and she stared up at him, unimpressed. He wore a blue T-shirt and jeans, wet hair sticking up at all angles and more than usual.

"Ya still smell."

"Gee, thanks."

"Mmm... caffiene."

* * *

Half an hour later, they were sat round the dining table, Paul included, having breakfast. Sally had pulled out all the stops this time; Louisa wasn't even surprised to see blue food now. There was toast, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, hash browns, pancakes and an assortment of jams, sauces and a big bottle of syrup Percy refused to share. Everything Sally could make blue, she had, using blue bread from yesterday for the toast. Paul had accepted it as well, starting his first coffee. Louisa was on her second and was slowly coming around. The shower had helped, but walking the five metres from the bathroom to the dining table had been too much walking.

"You really are tryin' ta fatten me up."

"And?" Sally challenged with a smile, piling more eggs on Louisa's plate. Louisa couldn't think of a snappy comeback, just muttered something about Hansel and Gretel. Percy was helping himself to great steaming piles of everything and still swiped a strip of bacon from his sister's plate. Louisa frowned. Sally quickly replaced it.

"Mom, Annabeth and Grover said they might drop by at some point. That OK?"

"Of course it is! Percy, you know I love having those two over, you don't have to keep asking."

"Still. Thanks, Mom."

"How long's Annabeth been ya girlfriend?"

"Since my- our birthday."

"Really?" Percy nodded. "Ya'd best not forget ya anniversary then." Louisa grinned wickedly as Percy turned pink.

"What about you, Lou?" Paul asked, shovelling a fried egg in his mouth. "Any significant other?"

"Ew, no."

"What are you, five?"

"I have class." Louisa retorted defiantly, eyes gleaming. Percy sat forward in his seat, identical gleam in identical eyes. Sally cleared her throat pointedly. "Although," Louisa tore her slice of toast in two and dipped one half in the beans, "if Deadpool turned up on my doorstep, I'd marry him."

"Really?" Percy laughed.

"Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool?" Paul quizzed.

"Is there any other Deadpool?" Louisa retorted flatly. "He's been destined to play Deadpool since he was born."

"Who's Deadpool?" Sally whispered to her son. Louisa gaped at her. Percy bounced in his seat, sensing the on-coming fangirl storm. "What?"

"Oh my gods, I don't even _know_ you anymore!"

"What?" Sally laughed nervously.

" _Who's Deadpool_?" Louisa shook her head and looked at Sally pityingly. "You haven't lived."

"Um... OK?" Sally hunched her shoulders.

"Deadpool is _awesome_."

"He's this mercenary from the Marvel comics." Percy explained. "He's a bit of an anti-hero and he's very well aware that he's a fictional character- they made a film about him a while back, the dude in the red costume that you thought was Spiderman with guns?"

"You _what_?" Louisa protested. "Don't get me wrong, Spidey's cool, but _ugh_! Uncultured swine!"

"I don't know if I should be worried or not."

"Read the comics!"

"Or at least watch the film." Percy nodded. "It somewhat explains his character."

"OK?" Sally looked to her husband for support, finding only a disappointed head shake. "What?" She demanded.

"Sally, we're having a Marvel movie marathon. No way out of it."

"But-"

" _No way out of it_."

"I ain't watchin' the Tobey Maguire Spiderman films though, he gets on my nerves." Louisa folded her arms stubbornly. Percy nodded in agreement. "Keeps flamin' cryin' at everythin', fawnin' over Mary Jane. He ain't got class, he's got Desperate, capital 'D' _Desperate_."


	17. Chapter 17

**Another short chapter, sorry!**

* * *

Days Two and Three disappeared under a whirlpool of Marvel and blue food, the second half of Three dispensing Annabeth and Grover into this madness. Grover hissed at the violence, but he approved of the arc reactors and may or may not have had a not-so-tiny crush on Black Widow. Annabeth made the odd comment about Captain America's butt (ignoring Percy's frown each time) and Sally wanted to adopt Bruce no matter what any of them said about the minor turning green and smashing everything situation. "Couldn't be worse than Percy." Sally shrugged, ignoring her son's sulky pout. "Do all Marvel films have scenes after the credits?"

"Yes." Louisa replied, chewing her thumbnail as Black Widow smacked Hawkeye in the face. "'N' if ya don't watch them, you're a shame ta society."

"Really?"

"She's exaggerating."

"Am not." The twins shot defiant looks at each other. "Shut up." They said as one. Annabeth looked highly amused, Grover was hissing again. Paul stared- he still hadn't got his head around this twin thing. Percy wondered if he ever would- poor Paul.

"And that," Percy said several hours later, "should bring you up to date." He nodded at his mother. "Yay or nay?"

"Um... a mix? No, shush." She added as Louisa started to protest. "Aren't you violent enough?"

"There is never enough violence."

"There's too much violence!" Grover argued.

"Fight me."

"That's defeating the point!"

"Your point, not mine." Louisa hopped to her feet and stretched. "Dibs on the bathroom." And she was gone.

"I swear she's a ninja." Percy muttered.

"How are you getting on?" Annabeth asked, moving to fill Louisa's vacated seat next to him.

"I think we've gotten over the broken leg bit. That's good, right?"

"Duh."

"They fight like cat and dog and I've never found anything funnier. Siblings fight over the strangest of things. Like, this morning, they were arguing over the proper way to pronounce 'egg', but is there really any other way?"

"You can say it like it's spelt."

"And do _you_ say it like it's spelt?"

"No."

"Does Lou?"

"No."

"Then why were you fighting?"

"I don't know. It's fun." Percy shrugged. "Oh, we're under strict instructions from Jessica to not let Lou drive. At all."

"Why?"

"Very extreme road rage."

"If I wouldn't die, I'd want to see that." Grover sighed. Annabeth smiled. "Speaking of, though, you still up for coming to Camp tomorrow?"

"That's tomorrow?" Percy's expression turned blank. "I thought it was the weekend?"

"Chiron called you in early. He wants to meet Lou." Annabeth reminded him. The lock on the bathroom door clicked and Louisa materialised, wiping her hands dry on her T-shirt. She stopped short when they were all watching her, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Lou? Want to see Camp Half-Blood?"

"Will there be food?"

"Yes."

"Then yes."

* * *

 **Someone pick a Four Word Prompt, I'm bored! D:**


	18. Chapter 18

Sally dropped them off at the bottom of the hill. They had played twenty questions on the way, Annabeth's idea, and found that Louisa was a homicidal maniac who would have ten Happy Meals and a dead body rather than share. "It's alright though. I know how ta hide a body."

"I'm worried how you know that." Percy said from the shotgun seat. Sally caught a glimpse of an angelic smile in the rear view mirror. Grover shifted in the middle seat, moving closer to Annabeth. Annabeth rolled her eyes and asked the next question.

"Fatal flaw?"

"What?"

"What's your fatal flaw?" Louisa hunched her shoulders. "Mine's hubris."

"The brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?" Louisa raised a brow. Annabeth face-palmed and Percy cracked up laughing. Louisa looked to Grover, who shrugged, just as clueless.

"Oh, no. He wouldn't know. He was getting married."

" _What_?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to be a guinea pig." Grover retorted. Percy shushed him.

"Someone had better start givin' me answers or I'm gonna smack all of ya."

"We're here!" Sally chimed, pulling over. "Now, be good, _all_ of you." She gave her son a pointed look and he smiled sweetly. "And bring Lou up to date, I'm sure she'll love your stories."

"'N' why Blondie's fatal flaw is veggie spread."

"It's not veggie spread!" Annabeth sighed, throwing her door open. "That's _hummus_. Oh, you're definitely Seaweed Brain The Sequel." Annabeth helped Grover out, Percy still snickering as he moved round to the trunk to get their bags.

"Then what-?"

" _Hubris_. Deadly pride."

"Ya could've just said that." Louisa muttered. Sally joined them, smiling. "Does everyone have a fatal flaw?"

"Yeah, but it's more fatal for heroes." Grover explained. "Fatal for a reason- Annabeth's deadly pride means she thinks she can do everything better than everyone-"

"Daughter of Athena, that wouldn't surprise me."

"-but it's not necessarily true." Grover finished. "Sorry, Annabeth, but you know it as well." Annabeth nodded grimly. "Percy's is personal loyalty. He'd sacrifice everything to save a friend." Louisa looked questioningly at her brother, who shrugged. "What's yours?"

"I don't know. Is that bad?"

"It's best to know what it is so you can work to keep it in check. But we'll figure it out, don't worry." Percy distributed their bags. Sally fussed over them all, running a final checklist and then giving them all hugs and a final warning to behave. They stood and waved as she drove off, venturing up the hill when the Prius vanished. "OK," Grover said, "this is Half-Blood Hill. See that pine tree?" Louisa nodded. "That _was_ Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Long story, I'll explain later. For years, her spirit protected the camp's boundaries, now reinforced by the Golden Fleece-"

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, I know." Grover chuckled. "Also a long story that doesn't involve hummus, unfortunately. But firstly, welcome to Camp Half-Blood. No, Peleus, don't eat her."


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm not ignoring your reviews, guys- THE NUMBERS HAVE GONE UP, BUT FANFICTION ISN'T SHOWING ME ANYTHING, ARRRRGH.**

* * *

"This is insane." Louisa marveled. "What's that?"

"The dining pavillion."

"That?"

"The Big House. We'll be going there in a minute."

"Are those pegasi?"

"Yep."

"Why are there strawberries?"

"We sell them to fund the camp."

"Ya get enough from strawberries to fund all _this_?" When they nodded, Louisa shook her head disbelievingly. " _How many strawberries do you sell_?"

"A lot. We grow a lot though, satyr magic, Dionysus-"

"The wine god?" More nodding. "He's here?"

"We call him Mr. D, but yeah. He's grounded and has to spend his time here with the next few generations of heroes. He's usually playing cards and drinking Diet Coke at the Big House. Those are the cabins. You've got the original twelve for the Olympians, but since the war ended, we've been building more cabins for the other gods too. Unclaimed demigods usually go to the Hermes cabin, as he's the patron god of travellers and such. You'll be in cabin three with Percy."

"That one." Percy said proudly, pointing. "Right next to the ocean."

"I love it."

"Wait until you see the inside."

"Do I have ta stay here forever?"

"No. Some campers are year-round, others just come by for the summer." They showed her their necklaces of clay beads, giving a quick description on their meanings. "Let's go and see Chiron. We'll give you a proper tour afterwards." Annabeth started off towards the Big House, the boys falling in behind her. Louisa hesitated, staring out at the Camp again. Percy called out to her and she ran after them.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's just... strange."

"You'll get used to it." Percy patted her shoulder reassuringly.

* * *

Chiron was in wheelchair form, reading a newspaper and eating a croissant. He smiled as they entered, setting down his newspaper and gesturing for them all to take a seat. Louisa stayed standing, squinting at him dubiously. "You must be Louisa."

"You're Chiron?"

"Yes."

"No offense, but how are you in a wheelchair?"

"It's enchanted. I thought it would be less shocking for you-"

"You're a centaur. Trust me, I've seen worse." She sat then, next to Percy and on the edge of the chair. Chiron smiled, wheeling forward. He held his hand out to her, palm up. Percy touched her elbow and nodded encouragingly. Louisa rested her hand in Chiron's. He examined the lines on her palm, her fingers, turning her hand between both of his, mouth tightening at the numerous scars.

"Are you left-handed?" She nodded and he curled her fingers to her palm, smiling once more. "So, where have you been hiding?" Louisa gave him the same run-down she had given the others, taking her hand back and frowning at it, trying to figure out what Chiron had discerned from it. "And I presume you're the one who's been cleaning up after the war?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you." Louisa did a double-take. "We did what we could, but with the mortals waking, we had limited time and our demigods were... inflicted." Expressions turned sour around the room. Louisa dropped her hand into her lap and pressed her lips together. "How was England?"

"Rainy." She paused and then a wicked smirk tugged the corners of her mouth upwards. "I've got a friend over there 'n' her brother went absolutely ballistic when I threw his tea in the ocean." Chiron's eyes twinkled with amusement. Percy shook his head and Annabeth smiled. Grover wasn't paying attention, tearing up the sports pages and eating them. Louisa looked at him quizzically.

"Nobody reads the sports pages."

"Louisa?" She looked back to Chiron. "Walk with me." He wheeled himself out. Louisa recieved nods from her brother and friends and followed. Chiron had extracted himself from his chair and was standing in full centaur form just off the porch. Louisa gave him the once over, having expected a chesnut horse body rather than a palmino. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah. Am I in trouble?"

"No. I just have some questions."

"So... an interrogation?"

"A friendly one, I assure you. This way." He set off. Louisa followed. "How are you getting on with Sally?"

"I sort of flipped at her when I first met her. But... I think we've sorted it now. Dad's sulkin' 'cos I told him off."

"Via letter?"

"How'd you-?"

"Annabeth told me. I must say, you've got quite the potty mouth on you."

"I can be polite." She muttered. "Do I have to stay year-round?"

"Not if you don't want to. Those who do stay year-round may have rather tentative relationships with their mortal families or it is too dangerous for them outside these borders. Percy, being a son of Poseidon, should stay year-round, but he refuses and trains in the summer. He continues with school and has done quite well, despite needing a different school nearly each year. And he comes at weekends as well sometimes, he helps train the younger recruits. As a reward for saving Olympus, Percy turned down immortality and made the gods promise to remember all their demigod children; demigods have been flooding in. I'm surprised we hadn't found you sooner." Louisa blinked. She made a mental note to question her brother later, wanting to hear the story from him.

"How did you find me?"

"Sally contacted me, worried. She wanted to find you now everything has calmed down."

"Dad said we had ta be separated, said we'd be too much trouble growin' up together. Would it _really_ have been that bad?" Chiron examined her.

"We will never know for certain, child, but you are both well and together again. Do you get along with Percy?"

"I suppose so. Brothers are annoyin'." Chiron hummed. Louisa stayed quiet. He had this massive teacher aura, the sort of teacher that was easily respectable, kind and amiable, but not to cross.

"Louisa, it has been many, many years since a daughter of Poseidon, even longer so since twins. You may stay year-round if you require, you may join your brother in the mortal world, it is entirely your choice. But stay for a little while. You could learn something here, mingle with other demigods- you've family here."

"Aren't we all related anyway?"

"Yes." She bit her lip, thinking. She tipped her head back, fixing those sea green eyes on him.

"Your dad is that crazy time dude, right?"

"Yes..."

"But he's my dad's dad too?" Chiron inclined his head. "Do I call you Uncle Chiron?"

"Chiron is fine."

"How old are you?"

"How old do you think I am?" The centaur asked bemusedly. Louisa hummed.

"Very." She decided. Chiron nodded.

"Do you resent your brother?" Louisa's brow furrowed.

"I did. But they're not so bad." At his questioning look, she sighed. "I thought Sally would be this demon woman, keepin' him 'n' givin' me up, but she's... she's nice. I wasn't expectin' that. 'N' Percy isn't a complete walnut; it's kind of fun beatin' him at Mario Kart."

"And what of your adoptive mother? Jessica, was it?" Louisa nodded. "What does she make of this?"

"She talked me inta seein' them in the first place. After Annabeth 'n' Grover showed up, but... no, she's knows I won't ditch her, I wouldn't do that to her. She's put up with me since I was nine."

"Do you call her 'Mom'?"

"Yeah."

"Around Sally?"

"I... haven't, I don't think. Jessica is my mom, but I... it wasn't Sally's fault, I shouldn't be mad at her, but I can't... can't call _her_ 'Mom', it's... it's..."

"Like you're betraying Jessica?"

"I guess." They stopped at the top of the hill overlooking the mish-mash of cabins. Louisa could see them better now, recognising a few qualities and pairing them with their respective god. Kids, teenagers and young adults were rushing around, some carrying weapons, others lumber and tools, playing basketball, sparring, leading pegasi back to the stables, archers at the archery range, satyrs trotting about, working in the strawberry fields. The forest spanned the western side. Seeing her watching it, Chiron shuffled and touched the top of her head, silently amused- he had honestly been expecting her to be taller.

"Those woods stock monsters for training exercises and that is where we play Capture-the-Flag. We have a game tomorrow night. You can stay and play if you wish; do you have a weapon?" Louisa nodded and showed him her watch, turning it into a sword. "Do you have armour?"

"Um, no. Do I need armour?"

"Unless you wish to skewered."

"Mm, not on my to-do list."

"Let's get you suited then. This way."


	20. Chapter 20

**For RockRoy- no Superman, I'm afraid, but everything else! Thank you! ^_^**

* * *

"And this is the arena where we do weapons combat-"

"Hellhound!"

"No, don't kill her!" Percy threw himself between Louisa and his pet. "Wait, where did you get that?" She had a bow, arrow notched and ready to shoot. Her eyes were fixed on the monster dog, trying to aim around Percy. Her brother kept moving into her line of fire. "OK, firstly, this is Mrs O'Leary, she's my hellhound and she's really nice. She just wants to say hi, that's all. Secondly, where did that come from?" He jabbed a finger at her bow.

"Anti-clockwise." She muttered. Mrs O'Leary barked and coated Percy in slobber. She bounded away, snatching up a very big and dented shield, scurrying back to play, tail wagging in the air. Percy wrestled the shield from her and threw it. Louisa watched the display, bewildered beyond all reason. Percy threw the shield twice more and she lowered her bow. It rippled and vanished, but she kept a hand on her watch all the same.

"You can shoot?" Percy asked, pulling a towel from his bag. "I can't." He continued, voice muffled behind the towel. "I've been banned from the archery range." Mrs O'Leary barked once more and Percy peered at her over the towel. He nudged the shield towards his sister. The hellhound shuffled forward, sniffing this newcomer curiously. She whined and sat back on her haunches, head tipped to one side. Then she barked, ready to play again. Louisa picked the shield up and threw it.

"She's like an over-grown puppy."

"Yeah."

"How'd ya get a hellhound as a pet?"

"Her old master died and I sort of adopted her. I'll explain properly later, there are very many stories we need to tell you. We do weapons combat here-"

"Ya said."

"-sometimes we train with the dummies," Percy pointed, "it's taken a while to stop Mrs O'Leary eating them, so don't be worried if you see chewed up armour around here, it's just her. And we train against each other, too. With all the new cabins, we had to set up a massive system that changes the opponents all the time. Annabeth keeps an eye on how that works, she's good at that. For hand-to-hand combat, we go back here." Percy led her across the arena and through a set of big doors. It was akin to a dance hall, mirrored walls and laminated floor. "We put mats out. It's best to be trained in all areas of combat, you never know what you'll face out there."

"I beg to differ."

"Well, you've had a bit more experience, but for the new arrivals..." Percy shrugged and led the way back out. Mrs O'Leary was doing a tell-tale dance and whimpering so he hurriedly opened the doors and she raced out. "You know, we should go to the stables. You'll quite like them." Louisa just nodded, her mind clearly elsewhere. "What?"

"Are there any other nice monsters I should know about?"

"Tyson. He's our half-brother and he's a Cyclops." Percy smiled at her dumbfounded expression. "We're related to a lot of Cyclops, but Ty's like a big teddy bear. Just don't get between him and peanut butter, OK?"

"Right..."

"This way!" Percy said cheerily, marching off. "Oh, before we get there, I must warn you. A new Pegasus showed up the other day and she's not very happy about being in the stables."

"What's her name?" Percy shrugged.

"She doesn't stop swearing long enough to tell us." Louisa grinned. "You wouldn't happen to know this one, would you?"

"Sounds like Storm."

"So you picked a Pegasus just like you?"

"Yup."

"Figures." Percy muttered. Louisa whistled sharply and distant yelling sounded from the stables. Percy shook his head. Seconds later, a blue-ish black mare appeared, cantering towards them. Louisa met her halfway, laughing.

"You've been causin' trouble."

 _Yes I have_. Storm said proudly, stomping her feet and tossing her mane. She folded her wings neatly to her sides and nuzzled her human. _Where have you been?_

"Oh, ya know, found my birth family, had a go at Dad, stayed with said birth family for a bit, then came here, so ta da."

"That was the most unenthusiastic 'ta da' I've ever heard." Percy inspected Storm carefully. The stablehands were sprinting towards them, slowing when they saw that the renegade Pegasus was calm and being rather friendly to Louisa. Storm snorted at them, tipping her head up and swearing colourfully. Percy was glad he didn't have to translate that, reassuring the stablehands everything was alright. "This is Storm, Lou's Pegasus. Oh, and this is Louisa, my sister."

"Hey." Louisa said, not looking round. "Storm, what the hell ya been doin'?" She reached up and Storm pressed her nose against her rider's hand. "Been fightin'?" Louisa touched the vicious graze on the underside of the mare's chin. Storm huffed.

 _No..._

"Fuckin' liar." Louisa shook her head, but she seemed amused. Storm whickered, seemingly quite proud of herself. She looked at Percy, considering him for a moment.

 _Blackjack wants doughnuts._

"Ugh, when doesn't he?" Percy rolled his eyes. Louisa swung herself up onto Storm's back, grinning.

A few minutes later, Percy and Blacjack was racing Louisa and Storm through the sky. It was obvious the two girls had been flying for quite some time, although they did bicker back and forth almost as bad as Louisa fought with Percy. It amused the boys though, left Blackjack reeling for a bit- _holy doughnuts, your sister is_ RUDE _-_ to which Percy could only agree.

But he did find out something interesting about his sister- road rage didn't not just apply to the road.

Once or twice, Blackjack cheekily flew in front of them, diving and spinning and showing off. Storm was not impressed, Louisa even less so.

"We're flyin' here, _holy shit_! Get that feathered turd under control or I'll be usin' him ta make pillows!"

"No you won't!" Percy said defensively. Blackjack snorted in horror and put a good twenty feet between him and them. "It's alright," Percy assured his steed, "I won't let her get you."

Louisa stopped having a go at Blackjack. Started having a go at Storm instead. Storm had gotten into the habit of flying into clouds and completely blinding them both, which led to them nearly crashing into the boys on more than one ocassion.

"I could've just left you in that bear trap ta rot, you ungrateful, two-faced bitch-bitch fuck!" Storm swore back just as creatively. "You wanna go?" Louisa challenged. "Fuckin' fight me, come on!" Storm slammed on the brakes, nearly knocking her rider off. She beat her wings to stay airborne and glanced back in defiance. " _Bitch_."

 _Jerk_.

"Fight me."

 _We're fifteen hundred feet in the air and you don't have wings. Did you think this through,_ princess _?_

"Don't fuckin' call me 'princess'!" Louisa raged. "I'll fight you on land, sea or sky, bring it on, you over-grown, over-glorified chicken!" Percy and Blackjack stopped a safe distance away, confusion rolling between them. Storm flipped her mane and whinnied loudly. "Drop me then." Louisa crossed her arms firmly. "Go on, see if I care." When Storm did nothing, Louisa started making chicken noises. Storm shook her head and surged forward, loop the looping. At the top of the loop, Louisa fell. Storm righted herself and watched. Louisa didn't fall screaming or anything, just glaring up at them, arms still folded.

"Um, Storm?" Percy called. The mare looked up. "She's getting a bit close to the ground."

 _That's alright_. _She does this all the time_.

"Really?" He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he heard Louisa yell a string of curses. Storm tucked in her wings and dived. Percy urged Blackjack to follow. Storm disappeared into a cloudbank after her rider, emerging as the boys caught up. Louisa was sat backwards on her Pegasus's back, fuming. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

 _Stop sulking, you big baby_.

"I ain't sulkin', ass-face."

 _Turn around then._

"I don't wanna see your bitch-ass mug."

 _Now that's rude._

"Ya just sensitive."

 _Well in that case..._ Storm dived again. Louisa yelled another insult as they vanished into the clouds. Percy could hear squawking; Blackjack dropped, coming out the bottom of the cloud to see Storm almost laughing- if a Pegasus could laugh- as Louisa battled and swatted at a flock of geese.

"Demon birds!" She raged. One of them smacked into her face and she flailed her arms, trying to discourage them. She summoned her sword, but the geese were very much mortal. Percy hadn't figured that that rule would apply to water fowl as well and they seemed just as stunned not to be itty bitty geese bites. They did shy away from the glowing blade all the same, honking distastefully, pulling at her hair and nipping at her arms. Louisa went absolutely _ballistic_ , spilling into a long line of swearing and curses in English and Ancient Greek, aimed at the geese, at Storm, at anything she could insult. "I WILL WRING YOUR NECKS AND COOK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, DON'T THINK THAT I WON'T!"

"I thought you couldn't cook!" Percy called, quite enjoying himself.

"FUCK YOU, YOU UGLY FUCKIN' CABBAGE!"

"Love you too, sis!"

 _Why are you cabbage_? Blackjack asked.

"I don't know."

 _I don't like cabbage_.

"No, I don't either."

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, STORM, YOU USELESS PIECE OF SHIT!"

 _I don't even know why I keep coming back to you_ , Storm sighed, _you're very abusive._

"YOU KNOW I DON'T LIKE GEESE, YOU INSENSITIVE BITCH!"

 _Make up your mind, am I sensitive or not_?

"STORM, I SWEAR TO GODS-"

 _Alright, alright, keep your wig on_. Storm shot Percy a cheeky look and plummeted. Louisa's drawn out 'FUCK YOU'carried up to them, slowly fading. The geese flew on, squabbling with each other now.

 _What just happened_? Blackjack looked back at his rider.

"I don't even know."

 _Is your sister insane?_

"Probably."

 _Chiron was right, she really does have a potty mouth._ Percy laughed and scratched behind Blackjack's ears, gaining a contented neigh. _Do you think Storm will be alright?_

"Yeah, she'll be alright. She seems to know how to handle Lou."

 _They're both insane_.

"Agreed."

* * *

 **I still can't see the reviews- as soon as FanFiction has stopped messing around, I'll reply!**


	21. Chapter 21

**WARNING, WARNING, LONG CHAPTER.**

 **Also, I asked in** _ **Mind Over Matter**_ **, but in case you didn't see that update- if you're reading or have read Theo's story, I shall be working on that after this, I've got this really cool idea I'm super excited to work on! Please read! :D**

 **Again, still can't see the reviews- as soon as they come up, I'll reply, promise! ^_^**

* * *

After the pegasi ordeal, Percy decided to keep Louisa on the ground. Or on/in the water. She could breathe and remain dry underwater, just like he could, talk to all the aquatic life forms, use the water to make herself swim faster. She summoned Bob the shark and made introductions- Bob really was the friendliest shark, he was like a puppy. "I don't get why you freaked about me having a hellhound when you've got a pet shark."

"He's not a pet, he's a friend."

"Same difference."

"No, very much different. Ain't that right, Bob?"

 _Yes it is._

"Go on." Percy encouraged.

 _A pet is a responsibility. A friend is, by my standards, Louisa._ Bob nodded seriously. Louisa grinned, arms folded triumphantly.

"And, uh, how long have you known Louisa?"

 _Longer than you_.

"Dude, that was uncalled for."

 _But true._

"I thought you said he was the friendliest shark."

"Oh, he is. But he won't lie to ya. That's why he's one of Dad's most trusted agents." Percy sent them both a questioning look. "Dad's got agents around Altantis ta make sure there ain't any trouble 'n' if there is, ya can rely on Bob to tell both sides of the story truthfully."

 _Lord Poseidon feeds me cheeseburgers._ Bob gave an excited, happy little wiggle and looped around Louisa. _I love cheeseburgers._ Percy grinned. Bob had good taste. Bob also had to go; _I'm being called back. It was nice to meet you, son of Poseidon! Next time, though, I would like cheeseburgers. I love cheeseburgers, the cheesier the better._

"I'll bear that in mind." Percy promised. Bob seemed to smile, giving them both affectionate nudges before disappearing further out to sea. "You have some strange friends, be they mortal or sharks."

"I wouldn't really have 'em any other way."

"True."

"Besides, one of _your_ friends is half-goaf 'n' eats cans like you do pizza."

"Has Bob had pizza?" Louisa shrugged, clueless. "I may have to broaden our fishy friend's palate." Percy kicked up. Louisa followed. Annabeth was waiting in a canoe for them, reading. "Hey, Wise Girl." Percy smiled, folding his arms on the side of the vessel. Louisa provided a counter-weight, leaning on the opposite side. Annabeth finished her page and tucked her bookmark in place.

"You're forgetting something, Seaweed Brains One and Two." Louisa grimaced- she wasn't happy with this new nickname- and Percy bit his lip. There was definitely some sort of event tonight... and Louisa was supposed to be prepared for it, which meant he-

"Oh, Capture-the-Flag!"

"And the brain cell works amongst the seaweed!" Annabeth threw up her hands in mock celebration. Percy wrinkled his nose distastefully. Louisa just laughed.

"Seriously, Blondie, why the hell are ya datin' that dweeb?"

"I am not a dweeb!"

"'N' ya ain't Blondie either!"

"My name isn't Blondie." Annabeth muttered.

"She wants dark hair." Percy explained. "Thinks people will take her more seriously if she did."

"Mm..." Louisa hummed. "Dumb blonde stereotypes?" Annabeth nodded, expression bitter. "I'll admit, I've made a fair few blonde jokes, but up 'til I met you, I've only ever known dumb stereotypical blondes. If there's a god of blondes, they don't half like pittin' 'em against me. One thing I don't get though- Athena's got dark hair, right?"

"My dad's blond."

"All of Athena's kids are blonde though, yeah?" Annabeth nodded. "Does Athena like smart blond dudes?"

"Seems that way." Percy smiled.

"Well, then maybe she's tryin' ta break those stereotypes by givin' us mega-smart blondes." Louisa hunched her shoulders. "I dunno. But don't dye ya hair, blonde suits ya."

"You'd better not be hitting on my girlfriend."

"Bro, we've been over this. I ain't interested unless it's Deadpool."

"Mm, Ryan Reynolds." Annabeth hummed, somewhat dreamy smile on her face. "I like him, he makes me laugh."

"And I don't?" Percy sulked.

"Different reasons, but yes."

"Me or Reynolds?"

"Ah, don't answer that." Louisa insisted. "Deadpool's mine."

"So I get Percy?"

"I say that's fair." Percy said, sulking more when they laughed at him. He waited until Louisa leant more on the boat to get a high five from her new partner-in-crime, pushing off from the canoe to add to its momentum. Annabeth went under, book and all. Percy bent the currents around him and rushed to a safe distance. He was _so_ dead, whether he was on her team tonight or not.

Louisa fished Annabeth and her novel from the ocean, drying both with a poke.

"I'm going to kill him." Annabeth growled, rubbing warmth into her arms.

"Can I watch?"

"Get it on camera."

"Deal." They shook on it. "Ah, crap, I left my camera at home. Hold on, let me make a call." Louisa returned the book and stalked off. Annabeth headed in the other direction, following her boyfriend's footprints.

* * *

Louisa had her camera delivered via Hermes, scrounging a few drachmas from her brother's 'secret' savings pot to pay for it. It was even in its little case attached to a long strap so she could sling it over her head and shoulder during the game.

She had played fairly standard capture-the-flag before, basic laser guns or water balloons, that sort of thing. She was quite excited to use stabby things, even if the armour threw off her balance. Armour had never been her thing, not really. But as Chiron said, it was better than being skewered.

To Louisa's disappointment, she was on the blue team. The Athena and Ares cabins (blue and red respectfully) had the flags, which no-one seemed too surprised about. It was just her and Percy in the Poseidon cabin, and Percy had been making deals with the Athena cabin, trying to avoid his girlfriend's wrath. It didn't matter so much this time, she still flipped him over her shoulder, armour and all, and held a knife to his throat until he apologised and confirmed he really was a Seaweed Brain. Louisa played the flip several times on her camera- apparently, Annabeth knew judo. Or at least some aspects of it- that flip was _flawless_.

"I do hope there'll be more where that came from."

"When you get back to your cabin," Annabeth whispered, "set your camera up to watch Percy's side of the room. I had the Stolls whip up a little something for him." Louisa gave a thumbs-up. Annabeth nodded once and returned to the front, issuing orders. "Percy, river."

"Oh, again?"

"Yes, again."

"You only put me at the river when you want me to get my ass kicked."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have tipped my canoe." A collective hiss when through the blue team, sympathetic looks almost swallowing Percy. "Lou, the counselors are under order to keep an eye on you; we need to determine where your skills are at. Chiron says you're to get to the flag any way you can. If the flag's not there when you get there, just come back. If it is, grab it and run back to our territory. Once you cross the river back onto our side, we win. And Percy, she's got your helmet. Swap." The twins did. The new helmet didn't fall over her eyes and bonk her on the nose. Percy seemed happier now that it wasn't too tight and smiled at his sister.

"No killing or maiming."

"But that's not fun!"

"Those are the rules." Annabeth smiled.

"Ugh. Borin'." Louisa muttered. "What's the point of havin' sharp stabby things if ya can't sharp stabby someone?"

"Watch out for Clarisse. She's got an electric spear, _something that would have been very nice to know on my first game_." Percy flipped a sarcastic look at his girlfriend. Annabeth ignored him.

"So, you run through the woods 'n' basically slap people?"

"The Ares' lot are very competitive and will probably go for the kill; it's in their blood." Annabeth shrugged. Chiron ducked under an oak branch and entered the clearing. The campers all stood to attention.

"All set?"

"Just telling Lou the rules."

"Can't I just maim someone a little bit? Like _little tiny bit_?"

"No." Chiron replied calmly. Louisa groaned and rolled her eyes, shoulders slumping.

"So what if ya lose a leg, it's part of the fun!"

"You're very grim."

"I'm told that a lot. What happens if I maim someone by accident?"

"Depends how bad and I will not be convinced it was an accident." Chiron flicked his tail and faced Annabeth. They shared nods and the centaur re-entered the forest. Annabeth assembled the blue team, giving last minute reminders of their jobs. Percy made a song and dance about going to the river, but went anyway.

"Oh, Lou, the trees move."

"What?"

"The dryads. They don't like staying in the same spot anymore than we do, so try not to get too lost, OK?"

"This camp is so weird, I swear ta gods." The conch horn sounded and the blue team dispersed. Annabeth flipped on a Yankees cap and promptly vanished. Louisa was left stranded for a moment, wishing she had one of those caps, before remembering she had to play too. She ran into the woods, passing Percy and purposefully splashing him with a cheeky laugh. Not that he got wet, but it's the thought that counts.

She had refused a shield, sticking with her watch. She wasn't very fond of shields, like she wasn't very fond of armour, and Annabeth didn't argue she take the shield like she had the armour. Sweet Poseidon, it must have weighed as much as Louisa did; she would get used to it though, all demigods had to train in full armour. "It'll make you big and strong, like me." Percy had said. Percy had also added a short joke. Louisa stole his pen and refused to give it back until he apologised. Even then, she threw it into the shrubbery. What she didn't know was that the stupid thing came back.

A barrage of yelling snapped her from her thoughts and Louisa skidded to a stop, facing four of the red team. Clarisse was one of them, presumably the rest were her siblings.

"Hi." Louisa tried. "I'm just lookin' for the flag, if you could just point me in the right direction, that'd be grand."

"Oh no, you know what Chiron said."

"I take it your the Ares cabin counsellor?" Louisa pointed at Clarisse.

"Yup."

"Right." She spun her sword in her hand. "Four against one. Seems fair. Wait, before we start, quick question? Where'd ya get an electric spear? I want one."

"A gift from my dad."

"Ah, dammit." Louisa stomped her foot. "So unfair. OK, go." She quickly numbered them, one to four, Clarisse being Three. One and Four barrelled at her, coming in from the sides. She ducked Four's stab and swiped at One's spear thrust. Two charged in, yelling at the top of his lungs. Louisa side-stepped at the last second, clonking him on the head with the hilt of her sword, ducked around One, parried Four, disarmed One and caught Clarisse's spear against the edge of her blade. A jolt went up her arm and One yelped as a static shock shot through her hand, dancing away and shaking the infected appendage to revive it. Clarisse and Four bore down on Louisa.

Louisa armed her right hand with a knife almost as long as her forearm- Annabeth had given it to her. Louisa normally fought with slightly shorter knives and usually with one in each hand, but this would do.

Clarisse tried jabbing at her and Louisa danced backwards, the tip of the spear skidding across Three's breastplate. He cursed and twitched, dropping his sword. Louisa booted it away, dropped to her knees and leant low as One tried to tackle her from behind, soaring over her head instead and crashing into Clarisse. Three recovered quickly, unslinging his own spear. He stabbed down at Louisa, but she wasn't there. She had rolled between his legs, leaning on her forearms and kicking back at him. He staggered forward, Clarisse rushed in, grabbing his arm as she passed and spinning him round. One righted her helmet and joined her siblings once more.

Louisa dived to one side, bracing herself against a tree as she stood, assessing the situation. Three readied his spear to throw. "No, mind the dryads!" Louisa yelled. He faltered- dryads didn't like it when you threw stabby things into their trees- and Louisa used this hesitation to lunge forward, twisting and dancing around Clarisse's spear, parrying with One and then bounced round to Three, kicking him from behind again, this time sending him sprawling into the dirt. His helmet went _dong_ against a tree root, but he still tried to get up, groaning and shaking his head.

One batted at Louisa with the flat of her blade, Louisa deflected with her knife, stabbing underarm and catching the electric spear on the sly. She threw her crossed arms apart, unbalancing them both, hopped onto One's bent knee and up, kicking off of her chest and flipping back, over Clarisse and smacking her in the head from behind with the hilts of both weapons. Clarisse dropped like a sack of potatoes. Three was on his feet now, having caught One. "I need ta stop callin' you numbers. What're your names?" Three muttered something that sounded like 'Pretzl' (Louisa later learnt he meant _Preston_ ) and One was Tori. Two was Lewis.

Pretzl ran back in, swinging his spear and twirling it, trying to distract her. Tori darted in behind and they closed in on her, pincer formation. Pretzl tried to skewer her head, Louisa ducked, Tori swiped at her midriff, Louisa hopped backwards and brought her sword up, catching Tori's against the handle. Throwing her weight against the crossed weapons, Louisa pushed Tori into Pretzl, swung her sword back and up and brought it down, slicing through the spear and disarming Tori. In her downward momentum, she spun on her right foot, bringing her left leg round and knocking them both flat. "This was fun." Louisa grinned at them, jumping to her feet. "I'll catch ya later." She sprinted off into the forest again, leaving them battered and bruised and cursing her name.

She managed to conceal her knife in its holster without slicing her fingers off, juggling her sword to her right hand and flexing her left. That was the problem with sword fighting- cramps.

Scrambling up a hill, she muttered obscenities about the armour. Her ADHD was slowly settling again, having flared up to not get her skewered- good word that, _skewered -_ and she was reminded of the weight constantly trying to drag her down. She slipped a couple of times before reaching the hilltop, stopping to draw breath. Was she anywhere near the flag? Did she even know where the flag _was_?

No, she realised, no she did not know where the flag was. Annabeth could have told her that. It might have been helpful.

Surverying her new surroundings, Louisa spotted a tall birch. She stumbled over and knocked on the bark. The dryad popped out, small and petite and kind of green with dark hair. "Hey." Louisa said, sword melting back into a watch. "D'ya mind if I climb up? I need ta see where the flag is."

"It's actually not far from here." The dryad told her. "Head east," she pointed, "about a hundred paces. You could be there in a few minutes if you ran. The flag has two guards and it's atop Zeus's Fist."

"Zeus's what?"

"It's an old rock formation. It _used_ to look like a fist, but then Kampe came out of the Labyrinth- anyway, get the flag!" The dryad disappeared in a puff of green mist. Louisa added _Zeus's Fist, Kampe_ and _Labyrinth_ to her list of questions, setting off at an unsteady jog. This armour wasn't just heavy, it was _hot_. She got halfway to the flag and pulled her helmet off, dragging an arm over her face.

"Like walkin' in an oven." She muttered to herself. "Ah. Rocks." She ducked behind a bush, flicking the ring around the clockface anticlockwise. The familiar weight of her bow fell into her hand, the equally comforting mass of a loaded quiver against her back. Without a sound, she freed and nocked an arrow. The enemy flag was guarded by two beefy Hephaestus kids who looked just as hot and bothered as she felt. They were chatting aimlessly, armed with swords and shields.

Louisa raised her bow, pulling back the string like she had done a thousand times. She preferred this to a sword; shooting was the first thing she had learnt, it had kept her alive and it kept her sane. The muscles in her arms relaxed into the familiar pose, fingertips brushing her cheek.

The arrow flew, exploding within two feet of the guards. They yelled in surprise as a weighted net erupted from the tip and flung itself over them. The force behind the arrow threw the net and its hostages from the rock pile. Louisa hurdled her cover and scrambled up the rocks, snatching up the flag and making a run for it. She could hear fighting, yelling and the odd rhyming couplet (Apollo's kids were creative) as she raced through the forest, crashing through foliage, remembering what Annabeth had said. The second she was over the river and back on home turf, the game would end and they would have won.

She forgot about the rest of the red team.

A mix of demigods sprung from various places as she passed through a clearing, armed to the teeth with all kinds of deadly weapons. Four against one, Louisa could handle, piece of cake. One, two, three- eight, nine... nine was pushing it. And they weren't monsters, they wouldn't go down with a single swipe or stab of her sword or an arrow.

Louisa hummed as they locked into formation, shields raised, spears bristling over the top. She spotted Pretzl in the ranks and smiled, lifting her fingers from her bow to waggle them at him. He just glared, dried blood crusting the lower half of his face. He growled something to his comrades and they straightened. Louisa took a step back, amusement dying down. She had to cross the river and _soon_. Percy would want her to win. Annabeth would too, everyone was aware how competitive the blonde could be.

"Your funerals." Louisa told them, slinging her bow over her head so it lay next to her quiver. They ducked behind their shields as she planted the flag in the ground and Louisa felt a smug sense of pride.

She stomped her foot and threw her hands out; grey streaks of hot and cold air whipped around her, cracking through the air, bundling together and spinning faster and faster and faster, compressing around her, drawing them in like a vaccuum, forcing them to scramble to stay upright, losing weapons, helmets, armour, shields.

Then it exploded.

The pent-up power threw them, mighty gusts of wind scooping them up and tossing them through the sky, straight up. Louisa swung her arms up, hands striking together and wicked sea green light erupted all over her person. With a yell, she flung her fingers skywards and the light rocketed in lightning fast tendrils, snatching up each victim and keeping them suspended in translucent bubbles.

Louisa snatched up the flag and sprinted to the river. Percy was in the middle of fighting a trio of Ares' and Hephaestus' kids, the water churning around him, healing whatever wound they inflicted on him mere seconds after it appeared. He saw Louisa and beamed as she leapt across the water body.

"TIME!" He called. The conch horn sounded. The fighting stopped. Louisa stuck the flag in the dirt, marveling as the colours shimmered from red to sea green, the crossed spears under the boar head morphing into a trident. Percy crashed into her, their combined armoured weight sending them into the river. Energy surged through them both and Percy started laughing. "You did it, you did it!" He held his hand up and Louisa high-fived him.

The rest of the campers were filing in. Chiron arrived last, Annabeth at his side. She was patting her Yankees cap against her leg, looking at Louisa worriedly. Pegasi circled overhead, collecting the bubbles' prisoners. Louisa watched them pass straight through the bubbles, the red team members on their backs when they emerged. The bubbles vanished and the pegasi circled round to land in a neat line either side of Chiron and Annabeth.

"What?" Louisa asked, irritation prickling under her skin as Annabeth's studying gaze lingered. Annabeth frowned.

"How did you do that? That... green light stuff? And where did you learn to fight?"

"Hold up... you were watchin' me?"

"She watches all new campers." Percy explained. "More often than not, that's how we determine them."

"Determine?"

"Figure out who their godly parent is."

"But-"

"Or," Chiron chipped in, "in your case, finding out your skill set." Louisa's triumph was ebbing, her annoyance welling in her chest. "You're not in trouble." Chiron said, gauging her expression. "I just have some questions."

"What did she do?" One of the Hephaestus kids asked.

"That's what I want to know." Chiron scratched at his chin. Percy was watching his sister, confused. Louisa gritted her teeth, throwing up her hand. The light she had conjured earlier exploded from her palm and writhed around her fingers, squiggly lines dancing up her arm. Percy's jaw dropped.

"We can do that?"

"I thought you knew." Percy started snapping his fingers, frowning, brow furrowing in concentration. He managed a small wisp that died after two seconds. Louisa let hers fade and tucked her hands under her legs. They were still in the water. Louisa would have got up to smack the scrutinising look from Chiron's and Annabeth's faces if she wasn't so content immersed in the river.

Percy got up, offering his hand. Louisa let him pull her up, undoing the straps on her armour and letting it splash into the water. She rolled her shoulders and stretched. "That's better." Percy smiled.

"You'll get used to it."

"Sounds fun." She muttered. "What-?" She began, freezing.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked her, smile disappearing. Louisa shushed him, summoning her bow and putting an arrow in place and drawing it back. She stepped from the river, eyes scanning the trees, tipped her head to the right, listening for something. Percy drew Riptide and stood at her six. Chiron clopped forward softly, armed with his own bow. Around the clearing, demigods drew their weapons, waiting for... for what?

Louisa said nothing, darting back into the forest. "Lou!" Percy called, racing after her. Annabeth followed, catching up with Percy rather quickly, but there was no sign of his sister. Percy slowed, frantically searching for her, turning this way and that. "Lou!"

"Louisa!"

"Ssh!" She materialised from behind a tree. She aimed past them and then cursed, letting the string of her bow slacken. "He's gone." She spat.

"Who's gone?"

"He's... it's a long story." Her gaze slid around again, still listening. Percy and Annabeth exchanged looks.

"Crazy ex?"

"Oh, be serious."

"Who then?"

"He's... my, uh... oh, this is really complicated. He was one of Dad's prisoners, sort of, 'n' I was supposed ta keep him in check, but... but he's bad news 'n' if he's back-"

" _Who_?" Annabeth demanded.

"He don't have a name. I mean, I called him Popadom, because it pissed him off, but... no, I promised Dad I'd deal with it."

"Why can't we help?" Louisa didn't answer. She plunged back into the woods. Percy started after her; Annabeth gripped his arm. "But-"

"If she's promised Poseidon, she'll manage it." Percy didn't look happy, stomping as they returned to the others.

"What was that about?" Chiron baffled.

"Not sure. Something about a guy she called Popadom and a promise to Poseidon." Annabeth hunched her shoulders.

"Popadom?" Clarisse snorted.

"Apparently, it really annoys this guy." Percy shrugged. "What are you thinking, Chiron?"

"I'm thinking I need to have a good, long chat with a certain sister of yours."

* * *

 **I may or may not be linking this to that old** _ **Louisa's Past**_ **:P Don't forget Theo's story please and thank you! ^_^**


	22. Chapter 22

**THE REVIEWS ARE BACK! THEY CAME BACK LIKE THREE O'CLOCK THIS MORNING, SO BETTER EARLY THAN NEVER, BUT IT'S BEEN NEARLY A WEEK, MY GODS.**

 **To CookieUnicorn- The Four Word Prompts is a list I found on Tumblr that I posted on here a couple of weeks ago or something,** _ **Four Word Prompts**_ **. The readers pick one and a category, so like Percy Jackson or something, and I do a one-shot attached to the list with that four word prompt.**

 **To Gummienummie- I love M5! Their songs are so catchy! ^_^**

 **To the girl- Thank you! And here you go, next chappie!**

* * *

Louisa disappeared for two hours after Capture-the-Flag. Several campers reported seeing her returning to the forest, which made Percy worry- all sorts of monsters prowled amongst those trees, gods knew what could happen to her. Annabeth kept reminding him that Louisa had been fighting monsters for years, "I'm sure she can handle a few stray ones in there." She nodded at the woods. Percy sighed.

"I know, I know, but still. What if she gets lost?"

"I doubt it." Annabeth shook her head. "She's probably just checking up on this Popadom guy, no big."

"Yeah. No big." Percy toyed with his pen anxiously all the same, chewing his lower lip. Annabeth linked their arms. "No, you're right. She'll be OK." He let her lead him away, to the arena, where she engaged him in a sparring session.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain."

"Right. Sorry." Percy pulled his thoughts to the fight and she started pressing him harder, barely giving him a second to pull up the right defense. Back and forth, back and forth, parry, jab, swipe, deflect, side-step, stab, slice, parry again- Annabeth ducked under his blade and tackled him around the middle, trapping his sword arm to the ground with her foot on his wrist, the edge of her blade to his throat.

"Percy?"

"Sorry."

"Are you alright?"

"Bit stuck." He muttered. Annabeth got up, reaching down for his hand and pulling him up. Percy distractedly dusted himself down. "My head feels fuzzy." He said, sea green finding stormy grey.

"Yeah, my bad." Annabeth turned. Percy looked over her head. Louisa was sat to the side with her back against the wall. She was holding a bloodied rag to her head, smiling grimly. "Don't worry, ain't nothin' ta worry about." Annabeth marched over, dropping to her knees and pulling Louisa's hand away. A jagged gash ran from her hairline to her temple. Percy ventured over as well, grimacing. "Honest, it's fine."

"What happened?"

"Ugh, Popadom got the jump on me, but it's alright. I got him back."

"Who is Popadom?" Annabeth questioned. Louisa stayed quiet, which annoyed Annabeth, but she started cleaning the wound with a water bottle. Louisa relaxed slightly and the injury started to close up. "Anything else?"

"No."

"Going to tell us what happened? Or who Popadom is?"

"It's a weird story. I don't even know all the details myself, but he caused alot of trouble a few years back 'n' Dad assigned me ta keep him under control." Louisa touched her head, the last of the cut gone now. "He had some friends 'n' it all kicked off from there, really." She shrugged and slid her back up the wall as she stood. "When's food?"

"Whoa, hold on." Percy waved his hand, rising. "That was barely anything. Why won't you tell us?"

"Undoubtedly, you'll find out."

"I'd rather know now." Annabeth muttered. Percy stooped and took her by the elbow, helping her up. "Lou, you _can_ tell us. If you need help with this, we're here. That's what we do. We help each other." Louisa regarded them, gnawing at her lip. Annabeth glanced sidelong at Percy, seeing his expression set similarly. The conch horn sounded and they both looked up. Annabeth mentally sighed. "Come on." She led them out. They fell in step and she shook her head.

"What?" They quizzed. "Jinx! Double jinx! Triple jinx!"

"Stop it." Annabeth frowned at them over her shoulder. They fell quiet and waited until she faced the front to start up an elbowing war. "You're like big children."

"I resent that remark." Louisa retorted. "I'm not overly fond of _children_." It was almost as if she was saying _demons_. Annabeth couldn't tell the difference.

* * *

"In three weeks," Chiron announced, "we shall be holding a tournament!" Cheers went up from the demigods. Louisa glanced over at Percy confusedly. "For our newcomers, a tournament is a series of events that we hold to test each cabin's skills in regards to survival, combat and logic! The first event will be your favourite chariot race!" More cheering. Chiron smiled. Louisa waved at him. Chiron seemed to read her mind. "The three weeks is preparation time- many chariots need to be made or repaired and for first-time racers to learn the ropes. You are welcome to stay the three weeks and the duration of the tournament, just let your mothers know." He nodded at Percy as well here. The twins nodded and Louisa returned to her cheesecake. Percy leant forward to talk to her in hushed tones.

Annabeth got up to talk to Chiron, telling him what little she knew about this Popadom.

"Mm." Chiron hummed. "I did try to talk to Poseidon, but he was busy and didn't get to tell me much and even then it was rather unclear." Annabeth raised a brow. Chiron contemplated his answer for a moment. "This Popadom, he has powers as of yet unexplained, but he has targeted Louisa for some years now, I believe first confronting her when she was eleven or twelve. And these friends you speak of, Poseidon _did_ tell me one was a demigod son of Hecate, in his thirties presumably as he did date Jessica for a while." Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "My thoughts exactly. Oh no." Protests from the Poseidon table arose. Annabeth sighed and looked round. Percy was covered in cheesecake and Louisa had tomato ketchup dripping from her hair. Chiron cleared his throat and Percy froze, glancing his way. His cheeseburger splattered against the side of his head and Louisa laughed triumphantly.

"What now?" Annabeth exasperated. The twins exchanged accusing looks. "Go and get cleaned up, both of you! Go!" She ordered fiercely. They trudged out, gobbets of food plopping to the floor behind them. Chiron chuckled, shaking his head. "Don't encourage them." Annabeth rushed after them to make sure they were behaving. They were pinching and elbowing and insulting each other all the way back to Cabin Three, Percy almost throwing a fit as Louisa went ballistic on the doorstep.

"No, that's Tyson! Don't kill him!" They disappeared into their cabin. Annabeth raced forward, finding the twins struggling with each other and Tyson sitting on his bunk, eye wide in confusion, hands frozen mid-construction. Annabeth tapped Louisa's shoulder, wiping tomato ketchup on Percy's shirt.

"It's OK." The sword disappeared. Percy relaxed and stepped back.

"Lou, this is Tyson, our brother. Tyson, this is Louisa, our-"

"Sister!" Tyson brightened. Louisa blinked at him.

"Yup." Percy smiled. Annabeth did too; Tyson's enthusiasm was infectious. "She's my twin." Tyson squinted at him. Annabeth explained gently and Tyson's grin returned. He bounced up and scooped Louisa up in his arms.

"I have a sister too! Yay! Thank you, Daddy!"

"Can't- breathe-"

"Tyson, she's suffocating."

"Sorry!" Tyson dropped Louisa and she staggered, inhaling sharply and feeling her ribs.

"I should have warned you, sorry. He's a hugger."

"Ya don't say." She wheezed, blinking spots from her eyes. "Tyson..." She said, testing the name. Tyson beamed at her. "Hi."

"Hello, sister!"

"Just call me 'Lou', OK?"

"Lou." Tyson mused. Then he nodded and clapped. "Daddy let me come here for a bit! He said there was a surprise and I was to wait here for the ketchup lady!"

"I am not-" Louisa started. Percy shook his head and she fell quiet.

"I am very happy ketchup lady is my sister! We can go swimming and you can meet Rainbow!"

"And you can meet Bob. The world's most friendly shark."

"Yay!"


	23. Chapter 23

Tyson helped build their chariot. He didn't like riding in it, but he was more than happy telling Louisa everything he was doing, how the chariot would work and about Rainbow. It took Louisa a good three hours of confusion to figure out Rainbow was a hippocampus Tyson had adopted on his very first quest with his big brother! He was very excited at the prospect of having a sister too. At first, Tyson completely baffled her, but Louisa developed a soft spot for him, just like Percy had. She decorated the chariot herself, revealing an artistic side that stunned Percy into silence and made Tyson even more excited.

"You shall have best chariot!" He exclaimed, clapping loudly. "You will win and everyone will be really jealous they do not have your chariot!"

"Sure will, big guy." Percy grinned, Tyson's enthusiasm bringing him back. "Lou, I didn't know you could paint so well." He touched her shoulder. Louisa looked back at her work- Atlatnis adornd the sides of the chariot, warped by currents, inhabitied by all kinds of wonderful sea creatures and merpeople, Poseidon himself guiding a hippocampi-drawn chariot over the gabled roofs.

"It's a hobby."

"I bet you could make a fortune if you sold them." Percy took her by the elbow as she stood.

"What makes ya think I haven't?"

"You never said."

"Diddums." Louisa looked up at the sky and whistled sharply. Blackjack and Storm set down less than a minute later. They both commented on the chariot- Blackjack said he couldn't wait to pull it; Storm said Poseidon had a big nose. "Shut up, Storm."

 _Make me_.

"Easy. They've already made muzzles for horses." Louisa smirked. Storm snorted indignantly, stomping the ground.

 _I am no horse_!

"Then stop actin' like one." Louisa helped her brothers tie the pegasi to the harness. Percy jumped abroad first, gathering the reins. Louisa poked the vehicle, contemplating it with a frown. "What's the chance ya gonna fall out the back?"

"A pretty big chance. You'll be OK though." Percy smiled reassuringly. Louisa looked at him. "Ah. When you said 'ya', you didn't mean generic 'ya', you meant me." Louisa nodded. Tyson looked horrified. "Don't worry, Ty. I'll be alright. Come on, Lou. One lap and I'll show you how to drive and the rules. Second lap, you can practice." Percy grabbed her hand and hauled her up next to him. "Right, Tyson's rigged the whole thing with different traps and attacks to get at the other teams. One of us drives, the other defends the chariot. These buttons let you take out or slow down the others. You're allowed to use your own weapons, just don't kill anyone. This is dangerous enough." Tyson did some final checks, giving Percy a big thumbs-up. Percy grinned his thanks and snapped the reins. The two pegasi set off, gradually building into a gallop. Louisa clung to the edge, laughing. Percy beamed at her. Chariot racing was so exhilirating, so fast, so dangerous, the wind tearing across their exposed skin, messing their hair with all the energy of an on-coming storm, the pegasi charing along the track, the smell of fur and feathers crashing back to them, tinted with pines and strawberries, the camp around them melting into strips of incoherent colours.

Louisa watched how Percy controlled the chariot, moving his weight to keep it from tipping as she whooped with delight. At the second lap, they didn't stop as they crossed the line, Percy simply handed the reins over, hands on hers while she came to terms with this new authority. They veered and wobbled dangerously on the right wheel, Percy moved left to get them back on track and then they were off. Percy left her total control and they didn't die, which was always good.

"Again!" She insisted as they rolled to a stop. Percy laughed.

"Later. Let the pegasi rest up. Easy now." Her legs wobbled as she hopped down. Percy caught her by the arm, smiling. "Wait until the race and you get to use all the buttons." Louisa's grin broadened and she bounced on the spot excitedly. Her hair was a forest of tangles and loose curls, falling over her eyes. Percy's looked like wild animals had been scrabbling and fighting through it. Both of them were breathing hard, faces red from the cold, unable to stop smiling. Tyson made sure they were alright and then started checking the chariot over.

"All good." He told them, beaming. "You will definitely win for sure!" Storm whickered and tossed her mane. Tyson gaped at her and Percy hissed.

"Please no swearing around Tyson."

 _Sorry_ , Storm muttered. Blackjack whinnied, almost as if he was laughing. Storm glared at him. _Shut up, you glorified chicken._

 _Boss, she's mean_! Blackjack looked to Percy despairingly. Percy sighed.

"Oh gods..."

* * *

Back at Cabin Three, Tyson sat on his bunk, asking Louisa endless questions- where has she been, what has she done, can I see your watch, what monsters have you fought, do you like peanut butter? Louisa didn't seem to mind, which surprised Percy at first. Everyone else had had their heads bitten off for being so nosey. Maybe it's because they had been picking and Tyson was genuinely curious and interested, maybe because he didn't mean any harm, was a good listener and liked her stories. Percy listened too, keeping himself busy so Louisa didn't pay him much attention. He was hoping to hear something about Popadom, but sadly and irritatingly, nothing. Perhaps he could ask Poseidon; he might have a little more luck than Chiron.

He nudged something with his foot and glanced down. Sally and Jessica had sent extra clothing and supplies via Hermes for their extended stay. Percy selected his rucksack and set about unpacking. Louisa was telling Tyson about the time she fought her way out of an evil hotel- "They did have nice food though, I'll give 'em that."

"Lotus Hotel and Casino?"

"You know that place?" Louisa marveled. Percy nodded and started telling her his stories. Louisa climbed up on her bunk as he spoke, sitting quietly as Tyson to listen. Percy finished putting his things away as he started to detail his fight with Ares all those years ago. He swung Louisa's sportsbag up on her bed. She ignored it, her attention solely on Percy.

Percy sat on his bunk below her. He talked and talked, Tyson only breaking his silence to add input about the Sea of Monsters. By the tme Percy was describing their time in the Labyrinth, the sky was orange. The conch horn sounded and his stomach growled. He stood, throat sore from talking. "Come on," he croaked, "I'll tell you the rest over dinner." Louisa hopped down, filing out behind her brothers.

Chiron let Annabeth sit with them to tell the remainder of the stories, filling in the blanks Percy missed. Grover appeared towards the end and he and Annabeth spoke of Percy's near-immortality. "He turned it down so demigods, children the gods had 'forgotten' about," Grover made air quotes, "it's been mad bringing them all in, but we're getting there. Each demigod we find is another demigod safer."

"If you _did_ take immortality though," Louisa mused, "what would you have been the god of?"

"Uh..." Percy looked to Annabeth and Grover. "Blue food?" He shrugged. "I don't know. Never thought about it." He glanced quickly at Annabeth again and looked down. Louisa gave a wicked grin. Grover nodded at her knowingly.

"Percy 'n' Annabeth sittin' in a tree-"

"Stop it." Annabeth warned.

"No, no." Grover shook his head. "In a _lake_. We dropped them in." He explained. Louisa stayed quiet for a moment.

"Percy 'n' Annabeth si-"

"Shush." Annabeth flipped a pie on Louisa's head. Percy stared at her in awe. "You shush too."

"But I wanted to do that." Percy mumbled. Louisa brushed chunks of meat and gravy from her face and hair, glaring at Annabeth.

"Game on, Blondie."

"No." Chiron appeared, casting a stern eye over them all. "Louisa, go and clean up. Annabeth, why?"

"Burst of immaturity. It won't happen aga-" Annabeth's words cut off in a loud squeal and she jumped to her feet. Louisa had dumped ice water down her back, ice cubes tumbling down the back of her shirt. "LOUISA!" Annabeth cried, stomping her foot. "THAT'S _COLD_!"

"Well done, Sherlock."

"Game on indeed!" Annabeth flounced out. Percy was torn between girlfriend and sister, looking to Grover desperately. Louisa picked a napkin from the table and started getting the worst of the pie's innards off.

"I suppose I came back at a good time then?" Percy looked round.

"Nico?" He blinked and then grinned. "Nico!"


	24. Chapter 24

**To James Birdsong- Thank you! ^_^**

* * *

Percy dragged Nico back to Cabin Three, talking animatedly the whole time, telling him about his new sister, the mishaps they had already got up to, Tyson loved her, she could paint, the chariot, her love for Deadpool. Nico didn't say anything- Percy didn't really give him a chance to speak, so he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. When they reached Cabin Three, Louisa was in the bathroom, in clean clothes with the door open so they could see her pulling faces at her reflection. Her hair was wet, hanging in limp curls almost to the small of her back. When Percy called her name, she glanced at him in the mirror and snapped her fingers. The water in her hair immediately tied it up in a braid, she only had to wrap a hairband around the end, and then it was dry. "That's so lazy." Percy remarked. "But pretty cool."

"I know, right?" Louisa grinned. "What'd ya want anyway?"

"I've a friend for you to me-"

"Ugh, you." Louisa frowned. Nico looked amused. Percy stared from one to the other, gaping.

"I had a feeling it was you. There couldn't be _two_ daughters of Poseidon called Louisa, surely."

"How- how do you two know each other?" Percy asked, looking a bit put out not to introduce them properly. Nico smiled darkly, more of a grimace. Louisa stalked past him, recovering a pair of clean socks from her trunk. She hopped about to pull them on while Nico started explaining.

"It was a few years ago. Our paths crossed a couple of times. I'd... run away at that point-" Percy's expression tightened, pained. "-and I was still learning to control my powers. I accidentally shadow-traveled right on top of her and she nearly skewered me with an arrow."

"I didn't nearly skewer you, ya wimp."

"I have the scar to prove it."

"You didn't _die_. Shut up." Louisa set her right foot down and wiggled her toes, smiling. "I love clean socks. Anyway, this dunderhead had some serious explainin' ta do 'n' when I asked why a son of Hades was alive, 'cos, duh, we ain't supposed ta be, he told me he was born, like, a million years ago-"

"Seventy."

"That's what I said." She shot Nico a glare. "Obviously we couldn't stay together that much, bein' Big Three kids 'n' all, but we met up whenever he was in the area, I gave him food 'n' Mythomagic cards 'n' sent him on his way. Helped him once with an errand for his dad, but that's about as excitin' as it got. He's really miserable." A guilty look flashed across Percy's face and her eyes narrowed. "Ooohhhh... Nico, is this the selfish coward you were tellin' me about?" Nico winced.

"Once upon a time, he was. Sorry, Percy, I... wasn't in the best of places after... what happened."

"You were right though." Percy's hand hovered over Nico's shoulder, eventually deciding to rest there. He smiled feebly. Nico patted his hand and Percy let go. Louisa narrowed her eyes at the pair of them, humming thoughtfully. "We're working it out. I think." Percy looked to Nico, who nodded. Louisa turned and picked her watch off the nightstand. Her sword extended in her hand and she aimed it at Percy. He frowned at it, as if he hadn't seen anything of its kind before.

"I will run you through if ya ever hurt Nico again."

"Mm, good luck with that." Nico pressed his first two fingers to the edge of the blade, pushing it down. "He's invulnerable."

"Come again?"

"You didn't tell her?" Nico raised a brow at Percy.

"Tell me what?" Louisa demanded.

"Oh, this is precious!" Nico smiled and faced Louisa again. Percy pinched his arm. Nico ignored him. "Percy, here, has bathed in the River Styx."

"It was your idea." Percy muttered.

"Are you _insane_?" Louisa's voice cut over her brother's and her sword vanished. "'N' you!" She jabbed Nico in the chest. "What the _hell_ were ya'll thinkin'? Ya could've been ripped apart by it, dumbass!"

"But I wasn't."

"Where's ya weak spot?" She asked hotly. Percy's brow creased.

"I'm not telling you. You'll kill me in a second."

"That's irrelevant." Louisa waved it off. "Nico, where is it?"

"Nico, I swear to gods, I'll kill you if you tell her."

"You won't kill me." Nico smirked. "And I'm not going to tell her; I'm _not_ telling you." He insisted when Louisa started to protest. "You still owe me a favour."

"I thought we were even?" Nico shook his head. Louisa thought for a moment, wrinkling her nose. Then it dawned on her. "Oh yeah. How 'bout ya tell me 'n' I owe ya two favours?"

"No."

"Dammit." She glowered at the floor. "Knowin' Percy, he's probably put it somewhere really obscure. If I kicked ya in the crotch, would it kill you?"

"It's not there." Percy said, stepping back to stand behind his cousin. Nico snickered. Percy frowned at him. Apparently, Louisa knew how to make the son of Hades look 'happy'. Like that little kid that was so excited about the gods and pestering Percy with questions, like he was still in there somewhere. Percy's stomach flipped and he felt hope creep into him. Say what you like about Louisa, but she was definitely good at dealing with bad moods- whether she put you in or took you out of one.

"Hey, Lou." Nico touched Louisa's arm. "How about you fill him full of arrows? Trial and error."

"Ooh, I like the way ya think, cuz. Hey!" She protested as Percy ran out the door. "Get back here!"


	25. Chapter 25

**Hello, I am not dead, I am here, I've just been caught up with work lately and haven't really had much time to update :'( But I've got the day off! So I'm going to update as much as I can! Yay! :D**

* * *

"How come the bathroom looks nicer than the rest of the cabin?"

"It's new. Er." Percy added. "What with all the new cabins being built, we figured the original ones could do with some revamping and now, each cabin has its own bathroom. Cool, right?"

"I guess." Louisa shrugged. "Ya make it sound like indoor plumbin's only been around for five minutes."

"Shut up." Percy tugged playfully on her ponytail. "Anyway, you can plonk your toothbrush there, medicine cabinet- I keep it locked 'cos Tyson likes to snoop and he hasn't quite grasped mortal medicines yet. We're getting there, but he thought the antihistamines were sweets and slept for the rest of the day."

"I'll bear that in mind."

"I'm worried now." Percy admitted. Louisa smiled mischievously. "That's not helping." He continued, shaking his head. She shrugged again. "Feel free to unpack. The key to the medicine cabinet is under the third shell from the sink." Percy pointed. Louisa saw the embedded seashells in the wall, leaning closer to spot tiny hinges on a scallop shell. She lifted it slowly and the key fell into her waiting hand.

"Clever."

"I am, yes. Thank you for noticing." Percy grinned. Louisa rolled her eyes, putting the key back in its hiding place. "And you already know the rest of the cabin. We've got our own trunks and there's a weapons rack and you can always shove things under the bed, but not for cabin inspection. Tyson's pretty good at cleaning, but we can't leave him to do it all on his own."

"I'm not the best at cleanin'."

"Ditto." Percy checked his watch. "I've got a class now. Wanna come?"

"I'll get my stuff sorted here 'n' then maybe consider comin' down. Depends."

"I take it you're not going to be teaching any classes then?"

"No."

"Fair enough. Try not to make a mess."

"Now, I can't promise that."

"Tyson will get upset."

"Now, I can't promise that." Louisa repeated, shooting him the stink eye.

"You're rude."

"Finally catchin' on, mm?"

"I'm going off you."

"Diddums."

* * *

Percy returned a couple of hours later, exhausted. He didn't mind teaching the younger demigods, but it didn't half tire him out. He called out a greeting. Tyson called back; "Percy, what is this?" Percy found him in the bathroom. Tyson had found a box under the sink, the lid discarded to one side. That box hadn't been there earlier.

Peering at the contents, Percy hissed. This was Louisa's box- spare toothbrush, a bottle of tea-tree shampoo and conditioner, a razor, some toothpaste and- the thing Tyson was pointing at- pads.

Percy put the lid on, seeing 'Lou' scribbled on the top, and pushed the box back. Tyson looked at him quizzically.

"That's girl stuff, Ty. No touchy."

"Is Louisa OK?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Don't worry about Lou, big guy. She can take care of herself." Tyson squinted at him. Percy patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "But remember- if it's Lou's, no touchy. Unless she says you can."

"No touchy." Tyson repeated. "Unless she says I can."

"Attaboy." Percy sent him on his way and closed the cupboard. "Any idea where she is?" He asked on his way out.

"She's down there." Tyson pointed towards the back door, propped ajar. "I think she's talking to Daddy." Percy thanked him and ventured down to the shoreline. "Hey." He said, dropping to sit next to her. "You OK?"

"Yeah. Just the daily rant 'bout how much of a prat Dad is."

"Uh, he'll get upset."

"He's used ta it. What'd ya want anyway? No, don't just shrug, ya've got that look, ya wanna tell me somethin'."

"Tyson found your box." Percy wasn't going to keep secrets from her. "I'm sorry. I just got back from classes and I found him in the bathroom. He hasn't taken anything, he just wanted to know what the pads were for."

"What'd ya tell him?"

"Girly stuff."

"Ya ain't freakin' out."

"Am I supposed to? Lou, I've grown up with my mother, she used to send me to the shops all the time to pick things up, pads included. It doesn't bother me, I know it's something you girls have to deal with and I salute you for that."

"You're weird."

"Thanks." Percy smiled. "If you need anything, just ask."

"I can handle it, Percy."

"I know you can. But the offer still stands." Percy squeezed her shoulder. Louisa gave a small smile. "Dad have much to say?"

"Oh, the usual. _I'm sorry for not telling you about your brother sooner,"_ she said in a gruff mimic of their father, _"stop swearing, you can't kill me, I'm immortal,_ etc. etc. He loves me really."

"I'm sure he does."

"Of course he does, I'm his favourite child."

"No."

"Yes."

"Favourite daughter, maybe. Not favourite child."

"Fight me."

"Why are you always looking for a fight?"

"Why not?" She flashed him a cheeky grin. "Hey, Dad!" She called. "If you had to pick between us, who's ya favourite?" They waited a moment, the waves curling on the beach. "There." Louisa pointed, rising to her feet and splashing into the surf. She recovered a glass bottle, popping the cork and tipping a scroll out. Percy shot her a questioning look. "He don't always reply like this, but it's how he got messages ta me when I was younger." She shoved the bottle in his hand and unfurled the scroll, victorious look fading away. Percy moved to her side and smirked.

"Tyson." They read together. "He wasn't an option!" Louisa yelled at the sea. "Between me 'n' this prat!" Louisa scanned the water. Another bottle appeared a minute later. She snatched it up. "Still Tyson."

"That's just rude, Dad." Percy said. "We're hurt. What are you doing?" Louisa was hurriedly folding the paper, making a hat and then folding it some more, pulling on the ends and making a paper boat. "How'd you do that?" She showed him with the first message and they set off to the docks to race the _Twins of the Ocean_.

* * *

 **Just some sibling bonding for today! ^_^**


	26. Chapter 26

"I think I've figured out how to find Popadom." Annabeth declared. Percy looked up from his comic, brow raised. Annabeth waited until he had put aside all distractions and superheroes and was giving her his full attention. "Lou's always looking for him in the woods, right?" Percy nodded slowly. "So, why don't we go and look for him?"

"So, you want to walk around the woods yelling 'Popadom' over and over?"

"Percy..."

"I'm just saying, they'll think we're crazy."

"Perseus Jackson-"

"Let me check my diary, see if I've got time to go on a popadom hunt in monster-infested woods."

"Percy, I swear to gods- do _you_ have a better idea?" Percy opened his mouth, whatever funny comeback he had dying as he considered her question.

"Of course I don't. You know I don't."

"Well then, Seaweed Brain, let's go!" Annabeth clapped her hands sharply. Percy scrambled to his feet and followed her out, mumbling this was insane, but he didn't dare argue. Annabeth had her mind set and there was no talking her out of it.

"Where are you goin'?" Louisa asked.

"We're just getting some food." Annabeth smiled. Louisa just nodded, probably assuming this was a date. She disappeared into Cabin Three and started insulting the trunk she stubbed her toe on. "This way." Annabeth ordered, marching off. They stopped by the armoury and suited up. Annabeth patiently corrected Percy's straps, grabbed a couple of spare knives and set off again.

"Are you expecting a fight?"

"If Popadom is as bad as Lou makes out he is, the armour doesn't hurt."

"It does hurt." Percy muttered, rolling his shoulders. Annabeth gave him a 'shut up' look. They reached the woods a few minutes later. Nico was sitting in the shade of an oak, humming to himself. He looked up as they approached, silently judging them. Percy just pointed at Annabeth and Nico nodded. "You alright, cuz?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Try sitting in the sun for a while." Annabeth suggested. "It'll do you some good." Nico looked at her as though she had just asked him to dive head first into a volcano. Annabeth fixed a stern, somewhat motherly look on him. Percy did a double-take. "Nico, just do it. You can absorb enough Vitamin D from sunlight after fifteen, twenty minutes, it's good for you." Annabeth nudged him with her foot. Nico looked down at her sneaker and then back up at her.

"Fine." He said. He got up, took one step out of the shadows and hissed. "Oh, it burns, it burns!" Percy cracked up. Annabeth frowned at the pair of them. When she stomped off into the woods, the cousins shared a high five. Annabeth yelled for Percy to hurry up. Nico wished him good luck.

"Should we call 'here, Popadom, here, good kitty'?" Percy suggested. Annabeth flipped her hair over her shoulder and picked up the pace. Percy trudged along behind her, silently amused. She called the nickname a few times. A wild drakon bustled past them, didn't even bother looking their way. Seconds after them, a trio of giant ants. They clicked their mandibles, contemplating the demigods. Percy pulled his pen from his pocket. Annabeth held out her hand and he stilled. The ants left. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"That's reassuring." Percy muttered. Annabeth started off in the opposite direction to the ants. Percy followed. "Popadom!" He tried. "Apparently you know my sister!" No answers revealed themselves, but Percy did trip on a tree root. Annabeth grabbed his arm and steadied him. "Thanks." Annabeth started to speak, grey sliding past him. A warning appeared on her lips. Percy uncapped Riptide and stood at her side. A hydra snarled at them, six heads snapping as it advanced.

"I told you the armour was a good idea." She hissed. They dodged a wad of acid spit. "Don't cut the heads off this time."

"It was _one_ time, will you let it go?"

"Percy, it's you." And that was her argument. She whipped on her magic cap, told him she was going to make a fire, keep it distracted and she was gone. Percy sensed her move away. The hydra wasn't impressed that half of its lunch had disappeared, but there was still Percy.

It advanced, snarling and spitting acid, the middle heads billowed fire. Percy weaved around this, slashing at its legs, at its body, its tail, anything but its heads. It was instinct to go for the heads, especially with the acid and fire, but he couldn't.

A flying branch caught his attention. He nearly lost his head because of its, ducking and rolling to one side at the last second. The hydra hawked and spat flames. The branch darted in.

"Now, Percy!" Annabeth ordered. Percy went for the first head. It fell to the floor with a thud. The branch dipped under the others and burnt the stump. The neck fell to the floor, being dragged by the rest. The hydra rounded on this mysterious flying fire.

"Hey!" Percy yelled. "Oy, you baboon's buttcrack!" That got the monster's attention. It snarled at Percy as if to say _rude lunch_. "Yeah, that's right, fugly. Bet you can't catch me." The hydra tried. To its credit, Percy wasn't being very fair, he was being rude and abusive. It lost three more heads and gained burnt stumps in return before it realised it should probably go and lick its wounds elsewhere.

"Baboon's buttcrack?" Annabeth asked, taking her hat off.

"First thing in my head." Percy shrugged. They watched the hydra stumble away, wailing. Annabeth dropped the branch and together they stomped out the flames. "So, what now?"

"Call Popadom some more."

"Hey." They looked round. A petite nymph waved shyly at them. "I've heard you calling Popadom for a while now. And you said he knows your sister?" She asked Percy.

"Yeah."

"Uh... she's Louise or something, isn't she?"

"Louisa." Percy corrected. "Do you know who this Popadom dude is?"

"Oh, yes, but..." She glanced around nervously.

"Are you alright? Annabeth asked kindly.

"We're not really supposed to talk about it." The nymph whispered, waving at them to come closer. "Obviously Popadom isn't his real name, but even we don't know what it is." At their confused looks, she took a deep breath. "You see, he's a monster. But not the kind of monster you'd expect. He's... well, he's one of us. He's a tree nymph."

* * *

 **Ta da! ^_^**


	27. Chapter 27

Percy and Annabeth returned to Camp to find it cloaked entirely in shadows and green. It threw Percy completely at first, Annabeth flipped out her knife and Yankees cap and was off, yelling at him over her shoulder. Percy scrambled to catch up, drawing Riptide. Thunder crackled overhead, clouds hanging so low and so dark, Percy was consumed by the wild thought it would descend and crush them all. Flashes of sea green intertwined with thick, writhing tentacles of darkness. The oceanic power threw its combatant back and, for a split second, it held.

Black magic rocketed in all directions in spikes as tall and wide as skyscrapers, snapping inwards when colliding with the protective barriers of camp. That's when Percy saw his sister, somersaulting and darting in all directions, avoiding each tendril as it impaled itself in the ground where she had been a heartbeat earlier. Percy picked up the pace, sprinting forward. He grabbed Annabeth by her armour and yanked her backwards. The shadows missed them by a good metre or so, but the force it exuded sent them flying, completely swept off their feet, soaring ten, fifteen feet into the air and crashing down yards away.

Louisa dived from the next attack and made a beeline for the duo. Thunder rumbled through the chaos above them, louder and heavier than before, getting closer. Louisa skidded to a stop beside them. She grabbed their arms and hauled them up.

"Why'd ya go lookin' for him?" She raged. Percy groaned. His ears were ringing and his sister's raised voice was making his head spin. Annabeth managed to grumble something about finding answers. Louisa stomped her foot in frustration. "Ya asked one of the nymphs, ya _never_ ask the nymphs 'bout him!"

"We didn't know that." Percy muttered. "It's not like _you_ were telling us anything."

"For a damn good reason, you stupid pr- MOVE!" Louisa tackled them both. Darkness cracked down, slapping like a whip and leaving a deep gouge in the ground inches from their faces. The dirt and grass around it withered and smoked. Louisa was on her feet in a second, sword in hand. She yelled at the top of her lungs; Percy instinctively grabbed Annabeth, waves of sea green erupted from Louisa. The power of her opponent lurched into a retreat, condensing into a single stream from multiple directions. Percy and Annabeth slowly rose. Annabeth saw where it was all going.

"Is that-?"

"Popadom." Louisa confirmed grimly, planting the tip of her blade in the dirt, doubling over.

"Lou-?" Percy started, voice faltering upon spotting a glistening crimson on an otherwise green T-shirt. "What happened?" He demanded.

"It's nothin'." Louisa huffed and straightened. "Quick lesson- he's a tree nymph, ya don't get dude tree nymphs, his tree's at the bottom of the ocean 'n' it's cursed, I'm in charge of guardin' it, but over the last few years, he's got some real powerful friends real quick 'n' they're workin' on freein' him from his tree. If they do that, he can go anywhere."

"But if his tree is at the bottom of the ocean, why is he now?"

"'Cos the tree's tied ta me 'n', by extension, he's tied ta me. Which means, wherever I am, he can be."

"What-?" Percy began.

"SILENCE!" A new voice roared. Now the air was cleared of all magic, Percy and Annabeth could see the campers had retreated to their cabins. Miraculously, none of the cabins had been damaged. Annabeth nearly thanked the gods when she noticed the domes of faint sea green energy encasing each one. No wonder Louisa had gotten herself injured- that much power, so spread out...

"He looks like Elvis." Percy murmured. Annabeth looked round. The only resemblance Popadom had to Elvis was the hair. Everything else was different, olive complexion, eyes as dark and cold as his twisted abilities, wearing a suit and tie as though he had come to a posh dinner, not to kill his gaoler. "Like, Elvis meets Matrix." Percy continued. He cupped his hands over his eyes. "And some super-solider serum thrown in too." Louisa rolled her eyes. Annabeth shook her head. Popadom threw something onto the ground and a puff of smoke later, he stood five feet from them. Up close, he was taller than Percy, squared jaw, a nose that looked like it had been broken, but somehow it still worked for him.

"So you're the brother." He grunted. "And you must be Annabeth Chase. Yes, yes, I've heard many tales about the pair of you. Fair to say I'm impressed. Oh, drop the toys." Popadom waved his hand and the trio lost their weapons. Louisa straightened, fists clenched at her sides.

"Leave 'em out of it." She ordered fiercely.

"And you know I would, Louisa, but I cannot let them go free. They breeched my privacy." Popadom advanced, lifting his hand and speaking in a tongue none of them recognised. Percy and Annabeth stood shoulder-to-shoulder, fists up and ready to fight. Louisa barged in and kicked Popadom straight in the crotch. He crumpled, the curse he was enacting fizzling in the air around them. "Cheap shot." He groaned. Louisa turned, grabbing the other two by the wrists and racing off, them in tow.

"Lou!" Percy protested. He snatched his hand free. Annabeth did the same and they ran alongside her. Popadom yelled in fury; Percy glanced back and saw the tyrant on his feet. "I don't understand!"

"I don't have time ta explain everythin'!" Louisa shot back. She stumbled. Percy's hand shot out and gripped her elbow. Louisa pulled free, hopping up the steps to Cabin Six. "In." She ordered.

"No, we want to help." Annabeth defied. Percy nodded in agreement. Louisa sighed in annoyance.

"You two like each other, right? Ya'll happy with this whole Percabeth thing, mm?" They glanced at each other, nodding hesitantly. "Good. Now get ya asses in here or he's gonna try 'n' curse ya both to hate the sight of each other. There's a reason Dad 'n' Athena don't get on 'n' he's standin' over there." She jabbed a finger at her charge, grimacing and throwing her arm around her middle. Very little of her T-shirt was green, her hand came away dripping scarlet. "I'm fine." She growled, going for her watch and then scowling when it wasn't there. One of Annabeth's siblings came out and gave her a new set of arrows and a bow. She nocked an arrow and tested the bow. "Thanks." She nodded at Malcolm and raced back into the fight. The nymph loosed another bolt of his power, Louisa leapt forward, flipping and landing on her feet, still running.

"She's been fighting him for years." Malcolm remarked.

"Agreed." Annabeth said, expression tight. "She can't keep this up though."

"There's got to be something we can do!" Percy threw his helmet off, furious. Annabeth rested a hand on his arm, pulling back quickly. He looked at her, torn between hurt and confusion.

"You're, uh, sparking?" Annabeth gestured at him. Percy examined his hand.

"That's new." He whistled sharply. Louisa came back seconds later. She started to reprimand him when Percy jabbed her in the forehead.

"Hey!" She glared. "What-?" She fell quiet, her injury no longer hurting, she didn't feel so tired and her head stopped swimming. Percy smirked triumphantly. "I thought ya couldn't get it."

"Apparently." Percy waggled his fingers. Their unique ability danced playfully around them, slithering away seconds later. "Go and put this guy back in his tree, sis."


	28. Chapter 28

Energy somewhat restored, Louisa raced back into the fight, yelling 'Popadom' at the top of her lungs. Her opponent screamed in frustration and launched his next wave of dark magic. Louisa summoned her own power, using it to propel herself through a gap quickly, the attack melting into the ground behind her, writhing and swirling with all the hatred the dryad could muster. Upon landing, she fired an arrow. He threw up his hands and disappeared in a vortex of shadows, materialising to her left. He clawed at her head, Louisa ducked, slammed her bow into his stomach and kicking him back when he stooped, gasping.

As she advanced, he pulled his hands back in, tucking them against his chest. The darkness broiling surged back to him. In her exhaustion, Louisa didn't react in time. It was a good job she had a brother now though- Percy whistled and Storm shot past, scooping her rider up, clipping the very tips of her feathers on Popadom's shadows. The pegasus had some choice words to say about this. Louisa threw her own into the barrage, firing arrows in quick succession, achieving hits to his chest, arms, shoulders, stomach, one narrowly avoided his head and then he was gone again.

It took longer for him to come back this time, mostly healed when he did. He pulled a final arrow from his shoulder, wincing and cursing. Darkness rippled over the wound, even fixing the hole in his fancy clothes. Louisa grumbled a series of foul words; she needed her watch back, _her_ bow- the quiver was enchanted to never run out of arrows and they weren't your standard, run-of-the-mill arrows either. She had net arrows, sonic boom, thunder storm, poison, electric shock and- her personal favourite- explosives. And many others, the quiver provided whatever arrow she required. _But how to get it back?_

As if reading her mind, Popadom sneered. He held up his hand and her watch plopped gently into his palm. He dangled it between his fingers, taunting her. Louisa reached back for an arrow, cursing herself to find only two left. She wasn't used to normal quivers.

All the same, she loaded the bow.

"That won't do much damage, Louisa!" Her rival called mockingly. "What are you going to do with that, mess up my hair?"

"In a way!" Louisa called back, changing targets. She poured all her focus into this one arrow, praying her power wouldn't crack the wooden shaft. She fired straight upwards, right into the overbearing storm. Popadom looked up in horror as the sky itself exploded. Storm veered to the right as high winds threatened to catapult her and rider all the way to New Zealand; the heavens opened, unleashing a proverbial flood from above, the thunder crashed, rolling one boom after another after another, until it was just one constant, echoing racket shaking the very foundations of camp. Louisa notched her final arrow, catching sight of Popadom desperately trying to keep the freak storm away.

She let the arrow fly. He shrieked and his power died, the waves consuming him in seconds. Louisa slung the bow next to its empty companion and leaped from her pegasus' back, diving straight into the watery hell. She could bend the currents and whirlpools to her will, she could breathe and was dry, this was her domain down here and poor little Popadom could do _nothing_ about it.

Louisa found him, trapped in a vicious whorl, her last arrow snapped in two, but still embedded in his eye. She snatched her watch back, clasping it on her wrist and summoning her sword. Clenching her right hand, bands of water crushed Popadom's arms to his sides, bound his legs together. He glared at her with his one dark eye. Louisa grinned. His hair _was_ a total mess.

Swinging her sword back, she recognised flickers of shadows creeping across his skin: he was calling on another one of his curses. Whether he got to finish it or not, Louisa didn't know, but she highly doubted it. Bringing her sword round, she let the sea whisk him away; in mere moments, he and his shadows were gone. _Back to your tree,_ Louisa thought smugly. A twist of darkness in front of her face. The water tore it apart, but not before it delivered its message- _you know this isn't the end, Louisa_.

Of course it wasn't. She knew that. But, until then, Popadom will have to work his way out of his tree all over again. Kicking up, she realised she now had a lot of explaining to do. And tidying. Ugh, _tidying._

* * *

The cabins were unharmed, having been in their protective little bubbles. The ground was very damp and squelchy and probably would be for a while, but the worst of the flooding was gone and the sky was blue and way up there once more. Not that the camp was enjoying it at the moment- everyone was gathered around the campfire, early afternoon, every single one of them with their own tirade of questions for Louisa. Chiron stamped his hoof and silence fell.

"One at a time." He instructed firmly. "First of all, Louisa. Percy tells me your Popadom is a dryad. How is that possible?" Louisa shrugged.

"I don't know his whole backstory. What I do know is that he has messed with the gods for, like, ever-"

"You said that Poseidon and Mom don't get along because of him?"

"So the story goes. I asked Dad about it a few years back. Apparently, he 'n' Athena could get along. Then the whole Athens thing happened 'n' Popadom did his thing so now they hate each other even more. It _was_ a rivalry, like... not sibling rivalry exactly, somethin' similar."

"But why is he in a tree?" Nico asked. "How did that happen?"

"Uh... I think Dad put him in it." Louisa scratched at her neck, piecing the story together in her mind. "Once he caught him that is. Then he asked me ta keep an eye on him. I'd say a year or so 'n' then he was tryin' ta break out. I did what I could. Got some of the deadliest sea monsters I could find to guard the entrance 'n'-"

"Entrance to what?"

"Oh. The cave. The tree's in a cave right at the bottom, where all the biggest monsters are. I love it down there, but..." She shook her head. "Don't tick 'em off, that's all I can say. Anyway, he started makin' friends above the surface, some dark magic thing that got past Dad's defences somehow-"

"Son of Hecate." Chiron commented. "I too talked to your father." He added at Louisa's perplexed look. "Continue." He prompted kindly.

"Yeah, uh... son of Hecate. Started out alright-ish, I thought he was a prat, but Mom seemed to like him. They went out for a while, then he flipped. He pulled Popadom up from his tree 'n', uh..." Louisa's brow furrowed. "That's the bit that's a blank." She admitted. "I don't know all the details now, but they got in my head 'n'... well, they tried ta use me ta bring Dad down, 'cos, ya know, they figured Dad wouldn't attack his own daughter." She shrugged again. "I can't really remember much after that, but they went off the radar for a bit." She tapped her finger on her lips, eyes thoughtful.

"Lou?" Annabeth asked. "Didn't you say the tree was cursed?" Louisa nodded. "Well, I was thinking, to destroy a dryad, you destroy their tree, right?" Louisa nodded again. "Does the curse stop you from doing that?" More nodding.

"What is the curse?" One of the Apollo kids asked.

"Dad won't tell me. All I know is that it's probably one of the worst curses ya can think of."

"Why did you call him Popadom in the first place?" Travis quizzed.

"It was the first thing in my head. I don't even know, it just popped up 'n' kinda stuck so..." She shrugged.

"You say Popadom has gone back to his tree." Chiron said. "He is wounded and... will take time to recover?"

"Yeah. I'll give him a couple of weeks, month at most."

"And what of this son of Hecate?" Chiron continued. "I highly doubt he can go to the bottom of the ocean."

"Mm." Louisa inclined her head. "He's been layin' low the last couple of months. As far as I can figure out though, he's tryin' to find a way to completely sever Popadom from his tree. If he does that, like I told you guys," she looked at Percy and Annabeth, "he can go anywhere 'n' do whatever the hell he wants."

"Which is what?" Clarisse asked cautiously.

"I dunno, take over the world? Overthrow the gods? That sort of thing." A collective groan went around the camp. "Hey, don't worry. They ain't gonna do it."

"And why's that?" Grover bleated. Louisa waved at him. Grover smiled timidly.

"They ain't gonna do it, 'cos the tree's tied ta me. Some magical bond thing that Hecate herself set up." Louisa grinned wickedly. "If they want ta break him from the tree, they're gonna have to kill me. But if they kill me, they kill the tree, which kills him 'n' puts the curse on whoever killed me. I love circles. Especially the vicious ones."

"So, we don't have to worry about any crazed maniacs trying to control the world any time soon?" Percy placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. She shook her head and Percy relaxed slightly, breathing a sigh of relief that echoed around his fellow campers. "OK, good. You're grounded." Louisa's grin faded in protest and she was on her feet in a second.

"Fight me!"

"No. You're grounded."

"You can't ground me!"

"Alpha twin!" Percy pointed at himself, arms raised in triumph.

"By nine minutes!" Louisa argued, planting her fists on her hips. Annabeth face-palmed. Grover came to her rescue.

"Hey!" He butted between the pair. "Why don't we settle this with a good old-fashioned sword fight, hm? Yeah, see? Come on, to the arena, let's go. No, don't draw your sword now, Lou, we're not at the arena. You know, the _arena_ , where we do sword fighting? Yeah, _that_ arena."


	29. Chapter 29

Annabeth called time on the sword fight when Louisa deflected Percy's sword in such a way, it twisted in his hand and he nearly skewered himself. They protested straight away, they still had fifteen years, ten months, three weeks and two days of sibling rivalry to make up on. And it had to be to the extreme otherwise they would never catch up. Annabeth redirected their attention to the climbing wall, the lake, the race track, anything that didn't involve weapons. Not the easiest thing to come up with in a demigod camp, but they were starting to get somewhere.

"You do realise anything is a weapon in their hands?" Grover pointed out.

"And so it is in mine, now shush." Annabeth glowered. Grover smiled sheepishly and ducked, arms over his head. Percy tipped Louisa's canoe and smiled at the naiads. The water sprites went crazy- they loved Percy- and started fussing over Louisa underwater. Percy paddled away, making it almost to the finishing line before he- canoe and all- went under. Annabeth sighed. "Why do I feel like I've become a mother of two in the last ten minutes?"

"Ugh, tell me about it." Grover shook his head. Annabeth didn't even ask, leading the way to the water's edge. They found the twins lobbing handfuls of water at each other, melding the water in spheres. Louisa had a loose strand of seaweed in her hair, Percy was splattered in mud and both of them were determined to win. The canoes had washed up a few metres away.

"Twins!" Annabeth scolded. They got a last throw each in, ending up mud and seaweed covered, head to toe. Annabeth sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and counting to ten. The green of their eyes was far more striking than ever before, their smiles unnervingly bright admist their latest get-up. "Go and get cleaned up!" Annabeth ordered.

"Mud is good for the skin." Grover remarked. The blonde glared at him. "Sorry." He said meekly. He dutifully helped shepherd the two back to their cabin. Louisa sprinted outside and dived straight in the water. Percy had a shower. Grover mopped up the mud they had stomped in.

"Mud _is_ good for the skin." Percy agreed when he came out, rubbing his arms and then feeling his face. His smile dimmed; Annabeth blocked the door, arms folded, the Stance, one hip out to the side. Grover suddenly remembered Louisa hadn't come back, so ventured outside and started calling for her. "Hey, Wise-Girl." Percy gave a lopsided, nervous smile.

"You're an idiot."

"Um..."

"Do you two have to fight over everything?"

"Yes. No." Percy corrected quickly. Footsteps behind him, Louisa and Grover. "We can behave. Right, Lou?"

"Wrong. 'Scuse me." Louisa disappeared into the bathroom. The lock clicked and Percy had lost one of his defences.

"You really are big children." Grover commented. "Seriously though, when she gets out, you are banned from fighting and racing and... and any other activity. Literally, just sit and play card games or Monopoly or something. Just sit _still_."

"Yes, Mom." Percy muttered. There was a thud from the bathroom and then Louisa cursing some more. "Lou?"

"That was my foot!"

"Shampoo?"

"More like sham _shit_! Holy fuck, that's cold!" Annabeth threw up her hands and left. Two seconds later, Louisa opened the door a fraction, sticking her head out. "We won?"

"We won." Percy grinned. Louisa returned it impishly.

"Excellent. Speakin' of card games though, d'ya know Bullshit? Or ya might call it Cheat, if ya polite." Percy nodded. "Double excellent. I'm so freakin' good at that game. 'N' stop usin' all the hot water, twatface." She retreated and slammed the door shut. Percy sighed, smiling. Grover laughed.

"Sisters." Percy shook his head. "Who'd have 'em?"

* * *

"So, how's it going?" Sally smiled at them.

"Annabeth keeps telling us off." Percy told her. "Lou, don't touch that." He playfully smacked his sister's hand and she glared at him. "No, we need that to work for the IM, no touchy." Louisa muttered something foul and reappeared in Sally's vision.

"Why does Annabeth keep telling you off?"

"She says we're like toddlers. And that we need to stop fighting over _everything_." Sally's gaze slid to Louisa who shrugged and yawned. Percy frowned at her. "Don't play cards with this one, Mom. She cheats _loads_ -"

"That's 'cos I won." Louisa mumbled sleepily.

"And if you play Snap against her, she tries to break your fingers."

"Lies."

"And she bankrupted me eight times in the space of twenty minutes."

" _How_?"

"He can't count."

"I can too!" Percy protested. Louisa went cross-eyed and stuck her hand up.

"Uh, _one_..." She put her forefinger up, putting on a dumb, slightly deeper voice for Percy, "mmm... two... ay yo ma, what's next?"

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"No." Sally warned. "Here's an idea, why don't we play a game? And not a competitive game. Say... Lou, Percy's first word was 'mam'. What was yours?" Louisa shrugged.

"Not somethin' ya get in an orphanage."

"Probably something rude." Percy said at the same time. Louisa shot him a withering, sidelong look and called him a bitch. Sally cleared her throat, laying a firm mother look on the pair of them.

"Do you know much about your milestones?" Sally continued. Louisa shook her head. Sally hummed, feeling her heart sink. Not only had she missed Louisa's first smile, first word, first steps- all the firsts- she had no information on them either. As if sensing this, Louisa thought quickly.

"I could tie my shoelaces when I was four. I was potty-trained 'n' everythin'." Sally gave a small smile.

"Percy didn't learn to tie his laces until he was ten." Louisa snorted.

"It's hard for some people." Percy muttered.

"He kept tripping over them. I mostly gave him Velcro straps. There hasn't been a day that he wasn't falling over and getting cuts and bruises and scabs all over- I remember I took him to the park once and came back with a bandage for a son." Sally shook her head. "What's your favourite childhood memory?" Louisa blinked at her.

"Um..." She said brilliantly, reaching up and playing restlessly with her ponytail. "I don't know. I don't really have a favourite, just things that I'm sort of proud of. Like, I was... four? I think, maybe just turned five 'n' this kid told me I couldn't fight 'cos, ya know, I'm a girl. Broke the bastard's nose with a spatula."

" _How_?" Percy and Sally demanded, staring at her like she was crazy.

"I can't really remember." Louisa laughed. "This other time, I'd just started my first school ever 'n' there was this girl, she kept takin' the piss, 'cos I was adopted."

"I'm scared to ask what you did." Percy told her.

"Better ask what I didn't do."

"Um, what didn't you do?"

"I didn't kill the bitch."

"Language!" Sally hissed. "Good gods, Jessica must have the patience of a saint." Louisa hunched her shoulders and then yawned again.

"Imma sleep now." She got up and stumbled to the bunk bed. "Maximum effort." She mumbled, pulling herself up the ladder and flopping onto the top bed. She was asleep in seconds. Percy turned back to his mother, bemused.

"We've actually been very good today. Don't listen to Annabeth, she's mad."

"You tried to drown each other."

"We can't drown."

"In lava." Sally added.

"Minor details." Percy waved it off. "Missing us yet?"

"Shockingly, no."

"Rude!"

* * *

 **I'm really tired, I've literally no idea what I'm doing. Sorry!**


	30. Chapter 30

**To Guest- my sleep induced chapters are weird as hell, I just read back over that one and I really wasn't with it, but I'm glad you like it ^_^**

 **To Muse45- Thank you! ^_^ And I'm trying to update more often, I've just been caught up with work, I'm standing for nine hours straight and running all over this massive garden centre, so I'm dead tired, but I'm trying! :D**

* * *

"Ah, dude, this is _so_ cool!"

"Please don't kill anyone." Percy eyed his sister sidelong. Tyson was doing final check-ups on their chariot and Louisa was bouncing excitedly on the spot. Louisa stilled, planting a hand on her hip and waving his remark off with the other and a _pfft_. "Look, I'll be driving, you just need to protect the chariot and keep the others away. Do _not_ kill anyone, _please._ " Louisa smiled sweetly. Percy didn't feel very reassured, but Tyson was waving them aboard now. Percy quickly explained the rules again, stressed the point that there was _no maiming or killing at all, Louisa_ about a dozen times.

"How'd ya expect us ta win without killin' or maimin'?" She demanded.

"Um, I'll have to show you to explain."

"If ya so worried 'bout me hurtin' someone, why don't you let me drive?"

"Not after the last night's practise, no way."

"It weren't that bad."

"I know about thirty nymphs who would disagree." Louisa frowned at him. "What?" Percy countered. "You can glare at me all you like, that _wasn't_ an accident."

"Riders!" Chiron called before Louisa could protest. "To the starting line!" Percy hopped up, reaching back to haul Louisa up. He had made a joke yesterday, having just realised then that she was the same height as him, her in the chariot, him on the ground. She point blank refused to let him get in after her anymore. Percy found it all highly amusing and borrowed a tape measure from the Hephaestus cabin. She was a good seven, almost eight inches shorter than him. Even now, it still amazed Percy how many people commented on the difference- how could he be so tall and she so small? **(Tol and smol)**

"One word." Louisa growled, knowing exactly what he was thinking about. Percy grinned.

"Midget." The next thing he knew, he was lying flat on the floor, winded and knocked out of the chariot. Tyson and Annabeth loomed over him, him worried, her laughing. Percy wheezed and started to laugh too. Chiron clopped over, way above the other two. He conisdered Percy for a moment and then moved to talk to Louisa. Annabeth reached down and grabbed her boyfriend by the arm, pulling him up and dusting him down.

"Idiot."

"Worth it." Percy smirked at his sister. She glowered, cracking her knuckles. Chiron and Annabeth sighed in unison. "See you at the finish line, Wise Girl." He kissed her hand, grinning mischievously. He got a whack in the gut from Louisa the second he picked up the reins. "Still worth it."

"I hate you."

"Will you two behave?" Chiron reprimanded. "Even if it is just for the race."

"He called me a midget."

"Truer words were never spoken. Ow! Ooh, you're a cow." Percy rubbed at the on-coming bruise, holding his arm. Louisa smirked.

"If you two can't race together, you won't race at all." Chiron said firmly. "No." He added when they started to argue. "That's my final word on the matter. What's it going to be?"

"We'll be good." They murmured. Chiron nodded once and returned to his stand. "Your fault." The twins accused, flipping challenging looks at each other. Annabeth, still standing next to Tyson, face-palmed.

"You're on the _same team_. Ty, I wish you luck." Annabeth patted the Cyclops' arm and returned to her chariot. Malcolm was watching rather bemusedly, passing the reins to Annabeth as she boarded. The blonde siblings had a quick, quiet discussion and nodded at each other. Percy sighed.

"What?" Louisa demanded.

"They've got a plan."

"Oh?"

"Truce?" Percy offered his hand. Louisa folded her arms. "Oh, come on. We'll lose otherwise." A funny look flittered across her features- she wanted to win, but she was still mad at him. "How about a truce until the race is over?"

"Fine." She shook his hand.

"On your marks!" Chiron called. Grover beside him raised the flag. "Get set!" The flag wavered. Chiron waited for a second and then, "GO!" The flag fell and they were off. Louisa summoned her bow as the Hermes' chariot got too close, firing a net arrow at the Stoll brothers. They were snarred together, the net latching onto the chariot; the vehicle itself veered off course, crashing through the automatons of the Hephaestus chariot.

"I said don't kill anyone!"

"I didn't! On ya left!" Louisa loaded and shot in a second, a taser arrow catching one of Demeter's kids in the chest. They fell against their partner, twitching and shaking. The driver instinctively steered away from the carnage, Louisa fired an arrow into another chariot-Apollo- an ear-damning shriek errupting a second later. Percy did his best to drive, but kept looking over his shoulder, wanting to know what each arrow did. "Percy!" Louisa scolded. He quickly faced the front and straightened out, flicking the reins. Storm and Blackjack strived harder, eating up the ground between them and the Athenian duo.

Clarisse came up on their right, her brother- Marco?- readying a spear to throw. The two chariots crashed together, sparks flying as metal grinded against metal. The wheels wobbled. Louisa leant over and smacked Marco in the face. He reeled back, surprised for a second, bringing the spear up and aiming for her head. Percy was watching from the corner of his eye and even then he wasn't sure he was seeing things right. Louisa grabbed the side, ducked under the spear and then swung herself up and over, straight into the other chariot. She kicked Marco from the ride, dodged Clarisse's arm coming round and kicked her legs out from under her. Clarisse toppled sideways, head cracking against the edge of the chariot. Louisa snatched up the reins and took the vehicle off track and out the way.

Percy kept going, driving with one hand and drawing Riptide with the other. His defense was gone and Annabeth had seen him.

Louisa was fifty metres behind and the distance was growing. She cursed and instinctively threw down her hands, conjuring up a wave of sea green power to launch her back; she passed her chariot, dispersing her power. Annabeth looked up as Louisa came down, arming herself with a javelin. Louisa landed in a crouch, locked her arms around Annabeth's legs and yanked them to one side. Annabeth toppled with a squeak, collided with her brother and the chariot careened around the corner. Louisa quickly stepped up, bouncing off Annabeth's back, kicking Malcolm in the chest and simultaneously using him as a spring broad to vault back into her own chariot. Percy had seen her come in and pulled up alongside, grinning at her as she grabbed onto his arm to right herself.

"I've got a ninja for a sister. That's so _freaking_ cool!" Percy gripped her shoulder. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but teach me everything you know."

"For starters, ya may wanna actually steer us over the finish line rather than through the dryads again!"

"That was you!" Percy snapped the reins taut and they thundered over the line, beginning the second lap. They switched positions, Percy bringing Riptide up as Nike's twins barrelled towards them. Louisa flicked the reins and their pegasi drew on their reserves. Percy noticed they were tiring and his mind whirred. He held his hand out. Louisa watched from her peripheral, a smug sense of pride welling up as he produced green energy. The pegasi whickered as one, excited and pumping with adrenaline. Their hooves barely graced the track, they were moving so quickly. "Go, go, go!" The twins encouraged, beaming and chanting, "go, go, go, _go_!" The finish line loomed closer, "GO, GO, GO!" and then they were over it, cheering.

Storm and Blackjack drew to a stop, breathing hard and very pleased with themselves. Their riders shared a high five and whooped with delight. The chariot rolled to a stop and they hopped down. Their competitors pulled in, Chiron trotted towards them.

"Isn't it nice when you two actually get along?"

"We won!"

"See last statement." Chiron shook his head, smiling. "Louisa, I have some questions, but well done, both of you. That was some excellent racing."

* * *

 **I may do the rest of the tournament thing, but then again, I may just do little one-shot bits of that, I don't know. What would you guys rather I do?**


	31. Chapter 31

Percy was woken early the next morning- _could he even call it 'morning'?-_ by a very loud "FUCK!" quickly followed by, "Shit! I mean crap! I mean- oh balls." Tyson's snoring had stopped and he was looking at Louisa in complete horror. Percy groaned and rolled onto his other side, frowning at his sister.

"It's still dark out. I should be sleeping. Why the hell are you up and didn't we talk about the swearing?"

"I needed to pee 'n' stubbed my toe!" Louisa hissed.

"Go pee." Percy waved her away. Tyson settled back into bed and she flicked a very rude hand gesture at Percy. "If Mom was here, she'd rinse your mouth out with soap and tape your hands together." He mumbled sleepily. "Lucky for you, it's just me and I can't be bothered to get up." Louisa limped, grumbling, into the bathroom. Percy was asleep when she came back out.

* * *

"Today's tournament," Chiron announced at breakfast, "is that of combat! Each cabin stands alone, regardless of how many inhabitants- Louisa, stop swearing- and it is a duel! Every single one of you has put your name into this bowl here," Chiron gestured at the large glass bowl on the table behind him, "and two names shall be drawn out! Those two names will be the first to fight and the winner shall go on to the qualifying round! Rules apply as usual, particularly to those who haven't quite understood them yet." The centaur shot a look to the Poseidon table. Louisa wasn't paying attention, trying to get the thick peel off an orange.

"Lou." Percy breathed. She looked up and then recoiled. The peel had split and orange juice spat straight into her face. Percy snickered.

"Bastard." She growled, dragging her sleeve over her eyes.

"As I was saying," Chiron continued, "two names shall be chosen!" He turned to the bowl and retrieved a strip of paper. "Thabi Sheen!" A girl at the Cybele table stood up. She had only been at camp for a week and was paired with Kevin Trimone, son of Mania. Chiron nodded at them and continued pulling names from the bowl. Percy was put against a son of Peitha. Annabeth versus Clarisse- there was a _lot_ of excitement for that one.

Louisa was one of the last to be called. It was her name and one other in the bowl- Nico di Angelo. Chiron looked to the Hades table and sighed. "And apparently breakfast is not important once again."

"It's OK, Chiron." Louisa grinned wickedly. "I'll get him."

"I worry about you." Chiron admitted, the way he said _worry_ sounded like _worry about your mental state_. Louisa- and everyone else- noticed this instantly. Louisa smirked and took her leave, treacherous orange in hand. Chiron shook his head. "Now all names have been selected, I would like for you to armour up and be in the arena within the half hour. Percy, see that your sister has her armour on properly this time, please."

"Actually, Chiron," Annabeth waved, "she did. This idiot thought she didn't."

"I was sleep deprived." Percy muttered.

"Percy, that means you were awake for thirty seconds in the early hours of the morning."

"Sleep deprived."

"Seaweed Brain."

* * *

"NICO!" Louisa kicked open the door.

" _Vaffanculo_." Nico glowered. He was awake, just sitting on his bunk.

"You fuck off." Louisa retorted. "Why ain't you at breakfast?"

"Not hungry."

"'N' I'm the president. Cuz, ya look live ya haven't eaten in months. Brought you an orange." She offered. Nico sighed. Louisa threw herself down next to him, holding the fruit at arm's length as she battled to peel it once more. Nico acted like she wasn't even there, his shoulders hunched, hands held between his knees, staring straight in front of him, unnervingly statue-like. "You OK?"

"Fine."

"Orange?"

"No thank you."

"Just a bit."

"Louisa." His dark eyes flashed over his shoulder, a warning. Louisa sat up and dropped peel on his head. He irritably brushed it away, muttering in Italian. "What do you want?"

"We've been paired in the tournament. Thought I'd give ya a heads up for an ass-kickin', 'cos I'm such a nice cousin." He glared at her. "Don't even think ya've got a chance of winnin', Nico, look at this noodle arms." She plucked at his wrist and he snatched his hand away. Louisa carefully freed an orange segment and popped it in her mouth. "Look, it ain't gonna be a fair fight, I'm fully-fed 'n' well-slept 'n' you, ta be frank, ain't."

"Will you go away?"

"No. Orange?" He turned away. "I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to be alone."

"Why?" She pressed an orange piece into his hand. "Is it 'cos people think you're weird?"

"I am weird."

"Join the club."

"No, you don't get it. It's alright for you and Percy, your father is Poseidon and most people generally like him. But they're scared of my father and, by extent, me too."

"I'm not scared of you."

"I can't always control what I do."

"'N' ya think I can?"

"You don't summon the dead."

"No." Louisa agreed. "But I can make 'em." Nico shook his head and bit into his fruit piece. "My dad's known for bein' the most destructive, right? Hurricanes 'n' earthquakes 'n' all that. 'N' yeah, it's pretty cool, but at the same time, so many get hurt, so many more get killed. Percy's not as bad, but I'm like Dad. 'Specially when he's in a bad mood." She nudged him with her elbow. "So, you can make a couple of skeletons pop out the ground? We should rent ya out for Halloween."

"If you're trying to cheer me up, it's not working." Louisa simply held out the rest of the orange. Nico found himself taking it.

"We're as bad as each other, cuz. 'N' you know it."

"People fear the dead more than destruction."

"People fear dyin'. No-one knows what to expect afterwards 'n' it scares them. Hades, you- ya both reminders of that, ya bring reality back around, for everyone, gods 'n' mortals." She shook her head. "You ain't thinkin' this through, Nico; they don't want reminders around, but you're more than that. You're my cousin, you're my friend 'n' you're also my soon-to-be victim."

"Challenge accepted."

"I'll see you in the arena then." They shook on it. Louisa got up. "Hey, Lou?" She stopped at the door and looked back. Depths of the ocean met depths of the Underworld. Nico held up the orange. "Thanks." Louisa smiled.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

 **I wanted to write some Nico and Lou interactions first. I may do some more sibling bonding for the tournament bits though. Or maybe sibling rivalry. Or both. Both is good.**


	32. Chapter 32

**To Guest- Aw, thank you! ^_^ And what'd you mean you can't believe you** _ **actually**_ **got to see Percy and Lou get on,** _ **what**_ **? They always get on, silly (joking, they're a nightmare, but holy cow it's fun as hell to write!) I will be continuing the tournament! Thank you again! ^_^**

* * *

"This is gonna take all day." Louisa complained.

"Well, yeah. Look how many campers there are." Percy gestured round the arena. "And Nico still hasn't turned up."

"Oh, it don't matter. We're in the last set so he's got plenty of time. As for you, ya'd better get ya ass down there. Just don't make us look like twats, OK?" Louisa waved her hand, indicating herself and Tyson.

"Percy will win!" Tyson beamed. "He is the best swordsman for a very, very long time!"

"Is that so?" Louisa looked dubious. "In that case, I'll see you in the finals."

"What makes you think you can beat Nico?"

"Dude. I literally know all his weaknesses. Ain't no way he's gonna beat me." Someone cleared their throat behind her. Louisa glanced over her shoulder, unimpressed. "Ya heard me." She tipped her chin up defiantly. Nico rolled his eyes. Louisa's smile slowly reduced into an angry pout. Nico's expression didn't change, but shards of obsidian gleamed with mirth. Percy stared at him incredulously. "Hey." Louisa snapped her fingers. "They're waitin' for you, dumb-dumb, get goin'." Percy did leave, hearing Nico place a wager for three Happy Meals if and when he won.

Percy's opponent, the son of Peitha- the goddess of persuasion- looked ready to faint. Percy felt a little cruel, but it wasn't his fault they had been matched up. As Tyson had said, Percy was, in the most humble of ways, the best swordsman the camp had seen in a long time. Unless Reg had a few tricks up his sleeves, this fight wasn't going to last long.

Louisa stayed up in the stands, sharing a bucket of popcorn between her, Nico and Tyson- Tyson kept taking great big handfuls, so the supply was quickly depleted. She picked some off the floor and pelted Nico with them and then those sitting in the rows in front of her. Tyson watched her in confusion while Nico gave her a stern telling off. She only laughed, prompting her cousin to flick her shoulder. "Hey." Louisa poked him back. "Save it for the fight."

"You won't win."

"Yes I will."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I'm amazin'. End of story. I swear ta gods, if you roll your eyes at me one more time, ya'll be spittin' 'em up in a minute. No, Tyson, not you. I like you, you're safe." Her brother relaxed, but shifted further along the seat away from her. Louisa left him to it, turning back to challenge Nico. Nico was like her banter-soul-mate. They didn't know the proper term for it, but they had yet to find anyone who could fire quips, insults and remarks as quickly as the other, so it was always a competition. "Who'd ya think's gonna win? Annabeth or Clarisse?"

"Annabeth." Nico said immediately. "No, wait. Clarisse? Ooh, I don't know. Daughter of Athena versus daughter of Ares. I'd prefer Annabeth to win, but... they both have the war deities as parents, Annabeth's more strategic and Clarisse is more combative." Nico hummed indecisively. "I guess it could go either way. What about you?"

"Annabeth. Or at least she'd better win, ain't no way I'm marryin' inta that family. What?"

"They've been dating for, what, two months? You're already planning the wedding?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

"Duh."

"Hmmph." Nico sat forward, crossing his arms over his knees. Percy disarmed Reg, tripped him up and held him at sword point. He felt Louisa's hand on his back. "I'm fine."

"Tell your face that."

"You can't even see my face from where you're sitting."

"I don't need to. It's ugly anyway."

"Love you too." Nico muttered.

"Ya'd better not be rollin' ya eyes, cuz, remember what I said."

"I can assure you, my eyes aren't rolling. Anymore." He added under his breath. Louisa heard all the same and pinched him. Nico started, whipped round and pinched her leg. A pinching-poking war started instantly. Tyson moved further away. By the time Nico and Louisa were called to fight, they were already bruised and were too busy giggling feebly to actually pick up their weapons. The others were fighitng around them, Louisa was doubled over with laughter and Nico didn't have the energy to stand, face hidden in his hands as his shoulders shook with silent laughter.

Chiron went to check on them, making sure they hadn't been jinxed by the Hecate cabin. "We're fine, we're fine. Ooh, my side." Louisa groaned and held the stitch. A second later, she cracked up all over again and Nico bowed forward slightly, accidentally snorting with laughter and pressing his hands over his mouth and nose. Louisa snorted too, taking the mick, and then they were both incapcitated. Chiron called a tie on this one and left to referee the other fights.

Percy approached carefully, Riptide aimed at the pair of them. They sat together now, exchanging feeble pokes and still laughing for no apparent reason.

"Are you dying?" Percy asked. They could only nod. "Are you aliens?" They looked at each other, a brief second of silence. Then more nodding and laughing. Percy wasn't sure what to make of this. On one hand, Nico was laughing. On the other hand, _Nico was laughing._

"Ooh, no I really am dyin'."

"See you in hell." They high-fived and then collapsed into a fresh wave of madness. Percy pocketed his pen, threw up his hands and left.

* * *

 **Who would win in a fight, Annabeth or Clarisse?**


	33. Chapter 33

Louisa and Nico weren't pitched against each other again- it was literally impossible to get them to do anything seriously together, they kept falling into incessant giggling fits. Percy kept feeling Nico's forehead, convinced he was coming down with something. Nico waved him away each time and called him several things in Italian, only to repeat the process a few minutes later.

"What did you _do_?" Percy asked of his sister.

"I'm hilarious."

"No, _I'm_ hilarious. You're a witch."

"Does it really take _witchcraft_ to make Nico laugh?" Louisa considered this for a moment and then nodded. "I like it. Expelliarmus!"

"Heroes!" Chiron called. There was twelve of them left- the Poseidon twins, Nico, Annabeth, two from the Ares cabin, Malcolm, Will Solace, Lou Ellen and four others Louisa didn't know by name. "Step forward." Chiron instructed.

"Another bowl." Louisa assessed.

"Twelve names this time." The centaur added. "Take one each." They did. Annabeth VS Nico, Percy VS the other Lou, Will against one of the Ares campers, Malcolm against the other, two of the other four were combatants and Louisa got the other one. "There." Chiron smiled, directing them to different points around the arena. "Arm yourselves!" He ordered. Weapons were drawn all round. Chiron waited for a moment, examining the set-up. Satisfied, "Begin!"

The world tunnelled around Louisa and her opponent- a son of Hephaestus named Barry- and she readied her sword. Barry, like all of Hephaestus's children, was tall and muscular, probably about three or four Louisa's, and towered over her, clearly weighing up his size advantages. He had a large war hammer, swinging it around as though it weighed nothing, charging her with a defiant yell. Louisa scrambled to one side, narrowly dodging the first swing. Barry chased after her. Louisa sprinted straight for the wall, him hot on her heels, scrabbled up the wall, kicked off and somersaulted over him, kicking him square in the back. He lurched forward, head cracking against the stone with a sickening _crunch_.

Barry wobbled, the hammer slipped from his fingers. He staggered, hand going to his head and then toppled sideways. Chiron appeared in a second, picking him up effortlessly.

"What is it with you and causing head injuries?" He shook his head. Louisa shrugged.

"Nature's snooze button. Is he going to be OK?"

"Luckily for him, I've had quite a bit of practise dealing with head traumas."

"My bad." Louisa went to pelt Nico with popcorn, distracting him enough for Annabeth to disarm him.

"Rematch!" Nico insisted.

"Nope!" Louisa tackled him, laughing victoriously. They rolled and wrestled, picking and pinching and elbowing. The rest of the fights were already over; Louisa, Percy, Annabeth, Will and Malcolm had passed into the next round. The two other fighters that Louisa _still_ didn't know the names of had managed to somehow knock each other out. But this did leave an odd number of victors; they had to draw straws- Will drew the short straw and automatically went through to the qualifying round.

"Now this is interesting." Chiron remarked. On his right, two blonde grey-eyed children and on his left, dark haired green-eyed twins. "The children of Athena versus the twins of Poseidon."

"Team-up, team-up, TEAM-UP!" The watching demigods chanted. Chiron raised his hand and, feeling rather charitable, agreed.

"She's going to kill me." Percy pulled at his face. Louisa looked at him, confused. Annabeth and Malcolm smirked knowingly.

"Bro, if we lose 'cos of you, I'm gonna smack ya into next month." Louisa pinched his arm. Percy didn't even retaliate, mutely drawing Riptide. "No, wait." Louisa pulled on his arm and then she was facing Annabeth and he was facing Malcolm. "Better." Louisa smiled. "Hello, Blondie."

"Don't call me Blondie."

"Blondie." Annabeth drew her knives. Louisa summoned her sword. The Athena siblings stepped back. Louisa covered the left, Percy covered the right. Malcolm was armed with a spear and a shield. Alongside her knives, Annabeth had her magic cap.

"Go!" Chiron ordered. Louisa immediately threw down her sword and held up her fists. Seeing this was going to be a weaponless fight, Annabeth straightened and swung her arms downwards, her knives embedding in the dirt either side of her feet. She too clenched her fists and what could only have been described as the cat-fight with the most potential to go so horribly wrong and be so horribly cool at the same time broke out. Annabeth was known for her fighting prowress and some knew of Louisa's fighting skills, but it seemed the match was stuck between the two, the favour tipping one way and then the other and back again, back and forth, back and forth.

Louisa locked her arm under Annabeth's and threw her weight against the blonde. Annabeth toppled and they rolled, wiggling around the other, trying to pin her. At one point, Louisa had Annabeth in a headlock, then Annabeth was free and going for the throat, Louisa grabbed Annabeth's ponytail and swung her round, Annabeth kicked her legs from under her, Louisa rolled back and came up in a crouch, tackled Annabeth to the ground and started wrestling with her there. Percy and Malcolm weren't even fighting- they wanted to watch too.

After kicks and punches and tackles, pinches, pokes and prods, more wrestling and headlocks, it ended with them trying to strangle the other, arms wrapped around the other's neck, both refusing to give. Percy looked to Malcolm.

"Should we do something?"

"Probably."

"Are we going to do something?"

"Probably not."

"I'm pretty sure they're going to kill each other."

"Yes." Malcolm nodded. He stepped forward, snapping his fingers to get the girls' attention. "How about a good old fashioned arm wrestle?"

"Dude, I'm boss at those."

"And we've yet to find someone who can beat Annabeth."

"Is there anythin' ya don't lose at?" Louisa and Annabeth let go and stood, dusting themselves down and stretching. "Ah, hell, I'm bleedin'. Sneaky, Beth, very sneaky." Louisa considered the scrape on her arm, nodding. "Did you two actually fight?"

"No." Percy admitted. "How about we arm wrestle too?" He asked Malcolm.

"Yeah, OK, why not? I honestly can't be bothered to fight right now, I'm beat."

"Same." Percy turned to Chiron and relayed the change in plans. A table was brought out. "Ladies first."

"But men just before." Louisa smirked. Percy shrugged, putting his elbow on the table. Malcolm copied and they clamped hands. "Percy," Louisa said seriously, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder, "win. Win or die."

"It's an arm wr-"

"I will kill you."

"Oh. OK."

"Go." Percy won within the minute. Malcolm didn't train as much as Percy, so Percy had the strength advantage. Malcolm insisted that he could beat Percy in his sleep in a logical thing and Percy didn't even bother denying it. "Anyone can beat Percy in a logical thing." Louisa muttered. Malcolm gave a small smile, probably the first smile he had ever shown to a spawn of his mother's rival. "Move over. Beth, game on."

* * *

 **I'm bored of this tournament thing now. Might just drop it entirely and go back to the usual stuff. Psst, who'd win in an arm wrestle, Lou or Annabeth?**


	34. Chapter 34

**Back to the fun chapters, yay! ^_^ And so close to 100 reviews, double yay! ^_^ ^_^**

* * *

"I'm so glad that tournament thing is over. My arms don't want to move."

"Ditto." Louisa agreed, burrowing under her blankets. Percy dropped onto his bunk, flopping down. He examined the slats over his head, pushing his hand against the mattress between. Louisa cursed him. "Stop it." She warned. Percy poked it again, the bed shaking slightly as she rolled over. Her head appeared over the edge, upside down, ponytail swinging wildly.

"Hello." Percy smiled. Eyes like his narrowed into a glare.

"I thought ya said ya arms don't wanna move."

"Yes. But if I can torment you, it's worth it."

"You will die."

"We all die eventually."

"'N' some die sooner than others if they annoy their sisters."

"I've been warned." Percy held his hands up in innocence. Louisa considered him for a moment, then vanished. It took a minute for her to settle, a disgruntled sigh and a muttered curse. "Can't sleep?"

"No." She grumbled. Louisa rolled onto her front and propped her chin on her pillow. She could see out of the window from her bunk, she liked to see the ocean. The sky overhead was as dark as onyx, glittering with innumerable diamonds, fracturing across the surface of the sea and gleaming like freshly fallen snow. "Percy."

"Mm?"

"What was Sally like? When you were growin' up?"

"As she is now. She never got mad at me, even when I was kicked out of school after school and fought with Smelly Gabe. I could have burnt the world down and she wouldn't have told me off." Percy paused, contemplating his next words. Louisa waited quietly. He went on to tell her about everything he could remember of his childhood- his mother working more often than not, their nights in watching old films, their trips to Montauk beach, how she never complained when he brought home bad results and the latest expulsion letter; never told him off for flooding the bathroom come bath time, she handled his toddler tantrums like a pro, she put up with Smelly Gabe; she had always been tired and overworked but never forgot to smile, the way her eyes changed colour depending on her mood, she would give him a blue cookie and a cuddle when he was upset or had fallen over. "And when the demigod stuff kicked in, she literally rolled with it. Mom can see through the Mist better than most mortals, she knew where and what the monsters were, she could see the gods who they were for. She worried more, she banned weapons from the apartment when I sort of swung a javelin the wrong way, but she helped anyway she could. Took monsters out with a shotgun; drove me, Annabeth and Thalia to scope out Nico and Bianca at their military school. Gave us food. She's set on adopting Nico, she's always making cookies for the camp- yeah, I know, she's mad- but it's just what she does." He stopped and looked at the bed above. "What about Jessica?"

"She keeps me out of trouble. Mostly." Louisa added under her breath. "She can sort of see through the Mist, it depends how strong it is or what it's tryin' ta hide. She actually introduced me ta hotdogs, so she can't complain when I eat too many, she started it." Louisa huffed. "Want a hotdog now." She muttered. "Anyway, Mom's got another daughter, older than me. She was well young when she had her 'n' her mom made her give her up. Elizabeth, but we all just call her Lizzie."

"Jessica talks to her now?"

"Yeah. I tracked her down."

"Jessica's mom sounds like a drag."

"She is. She's horrible, always nit-pickin' 'n' orderin' Mom around, tries tellin' me off whenever she comes over, says I don't behave like a proper young lady, blah blah blah. Slapped me once." Percy hissed disapprovingly. "Ah, it's alright. I accidentally lost her walkin' stick in the ocean 'n' she was left stranded on the beach for three hours."

"Ooh, cruel."

"Nah, it was pretty funny. We don't like her, grumpy old bag. She's so spiteful, can find a fault in anythin' 'n' I mean _anythin'_. Her husband died a few years before Mom adopted me. Never got to meet him, but from what I've heard, he was really nice. If Grandma Hag was slatin' Mom, he'd step in 'n' defend her, defend Mom, that is. Don't know why he married that old bat, bet he's glad he ain't around ta deal with her anymore though."

"Is she still alive?"

"Yeah, she's sulkin' in her pokey old house at the moment, she ain't happy with me."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Jessica doesn't mind if you annoy her mom?"

"Nah. Like I said, she don't really like her 'n' I can't blame her. She's not forgiven her for makin' her give up Lizzie either. Lizzie's great, you should meet her. She's got her own place, but she comes over a lot. I thought she wouldn't get on that well with Mom, but they seem to be doin' OK. I should've taken a leaf from her book, I was horrible to Sally." Louisa's tone saddened.

"Hey," Percy said softly, "it's OK. Mom's forgiven you."

"Still." Louisa paused. "What'd ya think? I call Jessica 'Mom' 'n' Sally's my birth mom. Do I call them both 'Mom', do I start callin' 'em by their first names 'n' leave it at that or do I just not call them anythin'?"

"It's not really my place, Lou, but I guess call them whatever you're comfortable with. Mom'll understand." Louisa just hummed. Percy rolled onto his side. Tyson was snoring in his bunk, the ocean churned against the shore outside their cabin, the breeze whistled by and Percy felt quite peaceful.

* * *

They were walking up the hill to head back into the mortal world. Seeing as Sally had dropped them off, Jessica was picking them up. She waited at the bottom of the hill, sitting on her car bonnet and reading a book. Tyson came with them, sobbing and crushing them both in a bear hug. "I will miss you!" He cried.

"Ty, it's OK." Percy wheezed. "We'll IM you."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Louisa agreed, turning red. Tyson set them down a little roughly. Louisa doubled over instantly, trying to draw breath. Percy rubbed at his ribs, casting his brother a reassuring smile. He started to speak when Louisa cursed loudly and collided with him. Percy frantically fought to keep his balance as she clung to him like a koala, right arm locked around his neck, left hand armed with her sword and inches from his face.

"Lou-?"

"Kill it!" She ordered.

"Wh-? Oh." Percy noticed his supposed target- a snake as long as his arm and as thin as a rake. He knew Louisa didn't like snakes, but he had never seen her around one. Apparently, it meant climbing the tallest thing closest to her, arming herself with a weapon that wouldn't hurt it- it was technically mortal- and demanding death. "Lou, it's not going to hurt you."

"Is everything OK?" Annabeth approached, stopping at Tyson's side. "I thought you were going and then I saw you kind of attack your brother."

"I am _not_ attackin' him! This time." Louisa muttered.

"Lou doesn't like snakes." Percy explained, pointing out the tresspasser. Annabeth considered it for a moment and then looked at Louisa quizzically.

"It's only a snake, Lou."

"That's like sayin' _it's only a spider_." Louisa retorted harshly. Annabeth frowned.

"Fair point." She picked up a fallen stick, lifting the reptile up on the forked end. The snake hissed at her.

"Kill it." Louisa repeated urgently.

"I'm just going to put over here."

"It'll come back, they always come back."

"Lou, will you calm down?"

"It'll come back, kill it!"

"Lou! Percy, get her out of here." Annabeth shook her head. Percy smiled, looping his arms under his sister's legs and giving her a piggy-back down the hill. It was only when they passed the halfway point did she put her sword away. Tyson followed with their bags. Annabeth made sure the snake was headed away before going down to join them. She wasn't really surprised to see Louisa sitting on top of her mother's car, watching the ground carefully. Jessica had tucked her book under her arm and was standing next to Percy, half trying not to laugh and half trying to talk Louisa down. "Lou, it's gone, it's going that way." Annabeth pointed in the opposite direction.

"It could have _friends_."

"I doubt it."

"Why don't you like snakes anyway?" Percy asked bemusedly. "If you think about it, you should feel sorry for them, they're just faces with tails."

"They're demons." Louisa objected. " _Demons_." She repeated fiercely when her twin started to speak. Annabeth touched Percy's arm and shook her head again.

"I could say the same about spiders."

"Open the sunroof, I'll get in that way." Louisa said to Jessica.

"No!" Jessica laughed. "You can get in the car like a normal person, thank you very much."

"I am not gettin' down. It's just waitin'."

"It's gone!"

"It's _waiting_."

"Oh dear gods..."


	35. Chapter 35

Louisa flicked the napkin ball at her brother. Percy watched it fall short lazily, head propped up on his fist. Sally and Jessica had brought them both to a lunch date and now they were listening to the mothers natter on. And on. And on. And on and on and on and on and on... The twins had given up trying to get a word in edgeways, playing napkin ball soccer. They got bored of that after thirty seconds. They had gotten three more servings of cake- each- Louisa had shown him how to make boats out of the napkins, they had had a straw-on-stirrer fight, drunk their milkshakes and two bottles of water, Louisa had gone to the bathroom and come back with paper towels folded into a hat- which she wore- Percy refilled the mothers' drinks twice and they were _still_ sitting there. Chatting.

"Hey." Louisa whispered. Percy opened his eyes, suddenly sleepy. Louisa nodded, her gaze fixing on something past him. He turned his head, as if surveying the room for something mildly entertaining, spotting a bright blur of colour from the corner of his eye. "I think we could do with some more milkshakes." Louisa commented, seeing he couldn't look discreetly.

"Indeed." Percy smiled. "Chocolate?"

"Of course." They excused themselves and started dodging around tables again, stepping to one side to let another mother and her two children pass by. Percy realised what the coloured blurr was- a very plump, very short man with thick cottony white hair that sprouted from pretty much every spot on his head. He looked relatively alright, aside from his clothes. He wore a rainbow print shirt that was three sizes too big, luminous yellow shorts and socks so white it was almost blinding, pulled up to his knees. And sandals. In his hands, he turned a wide-brimmed hat with an array of feathers from all kinds of birds. Louisa joined the queue first and looked at her brother over her shoulder, brow raised.

Percy wasn't sure what to make of it. On one hand, LGBT all the way! On the other hand... Iris, that old sea god that stunk to high heavens and could turn into a seal and, well, Iris. Louisa ordered their milkshakes before he managed any kind of response.

"LGBT personified."

"Agreed." Louisa nodded, sticking a red straw in her drink. Percy took up a blue straw and started mixing his drink. "Hey, glug."

"Glug?"

"Yeah, glug. It's a game. Basically, two people get the same drink- milkshakes," she raised her glass, "'n' drink as much of it as they can without stoppin'." Percy nodded- he knew _of_ this game, he never realised it had a name though. "Whoever stops drinkin' or finishes their drink entirely, wins. Usually, the prize is lunch or somethin'."

"So, glug?"

"Glug." Louisa grinned wickedly. "I have never lost."

"There's a first for everything, sis." They clinked glasses. "Game on."

"Um, what are they doing?" Jessica leant to one side slightly, peering past Sally curiously. "Oh no." She rose slowly. Sally looked round. "She's taught him glug."

"Excuse me?" Jessica grabbed Sally's arm as she passed and started pushing through the intrigued crowd. Some people were standing, a few started a chant of 'go, go, go'. Sally creened this way and that, trying to see around all these people. She only saw what 'glug' was when they broke through. Percy and Louisa stood a metre apart, heads tipped back and gradually draining chocolate milkshakes. It dribbled down their chins and dripped onto their T-shirts. Sally started to say something, but Jessica nudged her and shook her head.

"There's no stopping glug."

"OK?"

Louisa tipped her head back a bit more and smacked the glass down on the counter, punching the air victoriously. Percy choked in disbelief, spluttering milkshake and coughing. He doubled over and cursed under his breath, dragging a hand across his mouth.

"Told ya I've never lost."

"But I'm always buying you lunch!"

"Then you can buy me dinner!" Louisa threw her hands up and whooped. "Alpha Twin!"

"Oh no you don't, _I'm_ the Alpha Twin!"

"Prove it." She challenged cheekily. Percy pulled a wad of napkins from the holder and wiped his hands, dabbing at the spillages on his front. He was thinking furiously, trying to find any kind of challenge. Louisa simply used her sleeve.

"You can tell which one's yours." Jessica joked.

"He doesn't usually make that much of an effort." Sally shook her head. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Jessica hummed in agreement.

Percy looked back up at Louisa.

"Heard of the cinnamon challenge?"

"Of course. Got any cinnamon?"

"Oh, so challenge accepted?"

"Challenge accepted." Louisa confirmed with a devilish grin. "Prepare to lose. Again."

* * *

 **Glug is a game I used to play- not necessarily milkshakes because we didn't always have those at school, but water or juice. I won quite a lot and I was glug champion until I left. I think I must have been about nine or ten? It was a big achievement back then :P**


	36. Chapter 36

**Sorry for not updating the last couple of days, I've been working crazy hours and haven't had a chance. I'm back now though! ^_^**

* * *

Percy and Louisa managed three days with their mothers before they were ordered back to Camp. "Chiron knows how to deal with crazy better than us combined. You two are taking the cake."

"There's cake?"

"Oh, _go_!"

"I get the feeling we're not wanted here, sis."

"Funny. I was gettin' that too, bro."

"It's not that you're not wanted, it's that you're driving us crazy. How many other sixteen year olds sit in a fort eating junk food and colouring in? _And_ wearing big blankets as capes."

"We never got to do fort-building though." Percy stuck his bottom lip out.

"'N' it's not _all_ colourin' in. We've been drawin' too."

"And you're jealous of our style."

"The day I'm jealous of blanket capes will be the day pigs fly."

"Ooh, don't." Percy shook his head. "I've been caught out on that one." Jessica did a double-take. "I'd be happy to tell you. But you've upset the royals of the Fun Fort."

"'N' the punishment for that is complete exclusion from the Fun Fort."

"And there needs to be a ten foot distance between you and the royals."

"I'm sure Camp Half-Blood is more than ten feet away."

And that was why and how they were atop Half Blood Hill, three weeks before they were supposed to be, and not very impressed with either mother. They looked out over the camp for a moment and then Louisa considered Thalia's tree. "What's Thalia like?" She asked. "I don't think I've met her."

"I can introduce you to someone that you don't already know?"

"You ain't still sulkin' 'bout the Nico thing, are ya? Dude, I've known him for ages, I ain't gonna pretend I don't ta make you feel better."

"Treason." Percy muttered. "I'll take your cape." Louisa took a large step to one side and pulled the blanket tighter around her. "Thalia's a Hunter of Artemis. They drop in sometimes, but we don't always get on with them. And boys are a no-no too. Hunters are sworn to maidenhood, like Artemis, and they're made immortal."

"I'm likin' the sound of that."

"You would." Percy shook his head. "Race you." Louisa grinned.

"Bye." And she was gone, down the hill like a flash, cape billowing behind her. Percy sprinted after her, but it had long been determined that she was faster. He was still trying to beat nymphs in tree form; Louisa could get _them_ to chase _her_. So, of course she won, she was sitting on her bunk with her blanket over her head, her eyes alone visible and gleaming victoriously. Percy said a few unsavoury things and felt a sharp tug on his cape.

"What the hell are you doing?" Annabeth demanded.

"We're royals. Of the Fun Fort."

"So you need to wear 'capes'?" Annabeth did the air quotes.

"Naturally." Louisa's muffled reply came. Annabeth didn't even question it, shaking her head. Louisa dropped the blanket about her shoulders. "Hey, you're datin' that. 'N' that makes me your honourary sister-in-law."

"Excuse me?"

"It's Lou-Logic." Percy shrugged. "She's adopted your cabin as her honourary brothers- and sisters-in-law."

"Uh, OK then." Annabeth rubbed at her forehead. "Why are you back so soon?" The twins took it in turns to explain. Annabeth admitted she honestly could not blame Sally and Jessica, "if I had to put up with you two behaving like toddlers, I'd send you somewhere else too."

"Gee, I hope ya don't mother any children soon."

"What?" Annabeth blinked at her. Percy suddenly realised he needed the bathroom and promptly vanished. Louisa just smiled, grin broadening cheekily as Annabeth turned red. "I'm going to go now." The blonde mumbled, batting into the door frame before managing to actually leave. Louisa counted to thirty and called her brother back. Percy creaked the door open a fraction, just enough to stick his head out and check the room was clear.

"She's gone." Louisa promised.

"Why'd you say that?"

"Oh, come on, bro, it's obvious that's what ya want."

"I never said- that's not- that's years off."

"Years off, _mmmm_?" Percy glowered at her, redder than Annabeth had been. Louisa flashed a wicked grin and he disappeared back into the bathroom. "You'd better name one of 'em after me!"

"I'm disowning you!"

"You'll regret it!"

* * *

"Hey. Hey, Beth. Wake up." Louisa bopped Annabeth on the head. Annabeth muttered and rolled over. "Blonide, wake up. I need ya help." Louisa gave a sharper tap to the blonde's forehead and hissed at her. Annabeth groaned and sat up groggily.

"Whaaat?" She whined, eyes heavy with sleep. "It's dark out, I should be sle-"

"Percy's gone."

"What?"

"He's gone. I woke up ta pee 'n' his bunk's empty. I've looked everywhere 'n' I can't find the prat."

"Underwater?"

"Duh." Louisa stood back, taking Annabeth by the arm to help her up. Annabeth caught a whiff of something metallic, spying a dark stain on Louisa's arm.

"What happened?"

"Harpy." Louisa muttered. "Look, that don't matter. I'm gonna keep lookin' for him, I need ya to go 'n' talk to Chiron."

"Why me?"

"Can you swim at the bottom of the ocean?"

"Fair enough." Annabeth pulled on a jacket and her sneakers and they raced out. Louisa disappeared at Cabin Three, a splash following a few seconds later. Annabeth kept going, the shrieks of harpies filling her ears. "Chiron!" She called, clattering up the steps to the Big House. "Chiron!"

"Annabeth?"

"Chiron, you haven't seen Percy, have you?"

"Percy? Not since dinner, my dear. Why?" Annabeth relayed what Louisa had told her. "Has he left anything? Belongings, a note?" Annabeth hesitated. Chiron directed her back out, dispelling the harpies with a wave of his hand. They searched Cabin Three. Louisa had obviously torn the place apart beforehand, Tyson was sitting up in his bunk, sobbing quietly. "Tyson, my boy, it is alright. We will find your brother. I'm sure he hasn't gone far."

"No. I cannot smell him." Tyson's bottom lip wobbled. "My sister is looking for him, but he is gone. Far away."

"Did you see him leave?" Annabeth asked. Tyson shook his head and burst into a fresh wave of noisy tears. "Chiron?" Annabeth looked to their mentor, patting Tyson's arm. He wailed and Louisa crashed in, tripping over a pile of clothes she had chucked to the floor.

"Ow." She groaned.

"Did you find anything?" Chiron quizzed.

"I found my paintbrush." Louisa pulled it from under the bed. "But nothin' about Percy."

"The light took him!" Tyson wailed.

"Light?" Louisa pushed herself up. "What light?"

"There was light! It woke me up! I thought it was morning, but the stars are out! Then I saw Percy was gone!"

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Louisa demanded hotly. Tyson's bottom lip trembled and her temper faltered. "Ty, I'm sorry, but-"

"You woke up. I thought you saw the light too, but you went in bathroom. You did not see until you came back." Louisa moved forward and put an arm around her brother's shoulders.

"Light?" She asked of Annabeth and Chiron. Chiron's expression was grave. Annabeth was chewing her lip worriedly. "Is this some godly crap, has someone taken him?" Louisa demanded, voice raising. "Annabeth, watch Tyson. I'm gonna have a word with Dad." Louisa stomped out and dived back into the ocean. Annabeth looked to her young Cyclops friend. Thick tears stained his face, his eye fixed on her.

"Hey." She said softly. "It'll be alright, we'll find him."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Annabeth squeezed his shoulder. Tyson managed a watery smile and hugged her. "We'll find that idiot, Tyson, and give him a good slap for making us worry."


	37. Chapter 37

**Yep, we're going into Lost Hero territory!**

* * *

Percy wasn't anywhere, not in Camp, not in the city, not underwater, not in Atlantis, not anywhere Louisa looked. She even went down to the cave encasing Popadom's tree- Percy had never been there, but if a god was involved, a highly magical place would prove favourable.

And nothing. Absolutely nothing, nada, zilch, etc. etc. The idiot was nowhere to be found and every fruitless search just added fuel to Louisa's temper. She had gone down to reprimand her father and he had disappeared too. Louisa was _this close_ to strangling someone or something and, to be honest, she was in half a mind to go up to Olympus and do some serious strangling up there. She had literally just found out she had a brother and now the gods took him away? What kind of sick game were they playing?

"Grover, anything from the nymphs yet?" Annabeth asked.

"I've got nymphs all over the city spreading the word, we'll find Percy. As soon as they know anything, they'll let us know. Lou, are you alright? You keep yawning."

"She's been looking more than the rest of us," Annabeth answered for her, "and she didn't get much sleep either. Lou, why don't you go and get some sleep? We can keep this up, it'll be-"

"Don't say it'll be OK." Louisa growled. "If the gods took him, how in the name of fuck are _nymphs_ gonna find him? No offense, Grover, I get ya tryin' ta help, but we need ta go straight ta them." She pointed upwards. Grover and Annabeth exchanged hesitant looks. "Don't ya think it's weird that Mr. D 'n' Dad go AWOL the same time as Percy?"

"Maybe they're dealing with god stuff." Lou Ellen suggested.

"Or maybe they're hidin'." Louisa glared round at the other counsellors. "Am I the only one that think it's strange?"

"No." Annabeth agreed. "But we can't go charging around without all the facts or a plan, Lou. That could just make finding Percy a lot more difficult."

"I'll go on my own then."

"Lou-"

"Save it." Louisa stomped out. Annabeth sighed and massaged circles into her temples.

"Should someone go after her?" Grover worried.

"Yes. Malcolm, can you manage things here?" Annabeth looked to her brother, who nodded. "Thanks. Grover, you're with me."

"Eep." Grover squeaked. Annabeth grabbed his arm and hauled him out. They found Louisa atop the hill, waiting on Storm. She didn't look particularly happy to see them, but summoned two more pegasi to shut them up. "So, we're going to Olympus?" Louisa nodded grimly. Storm whickered questioningly, but Louisa said nothing. "And, what if we're not allowed in?"

"There's more than one way into a buildin' if ya put your mind to it."

"I'm worried now."

"Good." Louisa squeezed Storm's sides and the mare took to the skies. Porkpie and Blackjack followed.

* * *

Louisa smacked her hand down the desk, startling the poor boy behind it.

"Six hundredth floor." She demanded.

"Ma'am, there's no such th-"

"Six hundreth floor." Louisa glared. "Now." The boy couldn't have been much older than them, pale and shaking as Louisa's glower intensified. "Are you new here?" Louisa asked fiercely. He squeaked and nodded frantically. "I want to speak to ya manager."

"But-"

"Manager. Man-a-ger. Go. Go!" Louisa waved her hands and the boy scrambled away, disappearing through the door behind the desk. It was a minute before anyone came out, the boy hiding behind his manager. "Excellent- Barry, I want topside."

"No can do, miss-" Louisa cursed profusely in Ancient Greek. "Ma'am-"

"No! Give me the card!"

"Should I call the police?" The boy squeaked. Barry shook his head and moved forward, standing opposite Louisa with the desk between them. Louisa's hand shot out and grabbed him by the front of his finely pressed suit, yanking him forward until they were practically nose-to-nose.

"Listen here, _sir_ ," she snarled, "my brother has gone missin' 'n' if you don't let me up to the sixth hundredth floor in the next ten seconds, I'm gonna show you how 'n' why my dad is the god of destruction."

"Oh." The manager's voice trembled. Louisa let him go. "O-OK then." He produced a green card, glanced nervously at Annabeth and Grover.

"They're with me." Louisa gestured to them and they followed her mutely into the lift. Louisa swiped the card, smacked the button for the magical floor and then they were on their way up.

"Would you really have destroyed the Empire State Building?" Annabeth asked, an edge to her tone. Louisa cut a quick glance to her, scowled, and glared at the buttons. Annabeth and Grover exchanged cautious looks.

 _Ding._

Louisa was first out. Annabeth and Grover took a moment. This wasn't what they had expected. Olympus was usually bustling with light and life and music, there would be minor gods everywhere, partying and hanging out and dancing, just generally enjoying life. And now there was nothing, no-one, no light, no sound, no life. Everything looked as it should, just darker and lifeless.

"I don't like this." Grover whimpered. "Lou!" He hissed. "Where are you going?" Louisa was marching off up the path. Annabeth and Grover hurried after her and then she broke into a sprint. They raced after her, catching up as she reached the door to the throne room.

"Locked." Louisa growled.

"Olympus is closed then." Annabeth felt her heart sink. Grover rested a hand on her shoulder. "This was a waste of time, Lou, we should head back. Um, Lou?" Louisa had drawn her sword. She raised it, a fierce look of determination flushing her features. Grover pulled Annabeth back as the air crackled, charged with power. Flashes of sea green snapped and writhed around Louisa. She threw back her arm, sword absorbing the energy, buried the blade up to the hilt in the door. A split second of silence and then chaos ensued, explosions and shockwaves sending up debris, dust, smoke and a shrill ringing.

Louisa waved her hand and fought her way forward. The Olympian gods were here. Sort of.

Her sword shrank back into watch form and she spewed a series of curses under her breath. So that was the plan.

She spun on her heel and flounced out, grabbing Annabeth and Grover and quickly shepherding them out. Annabeth coughed and spluttered a question, Grover was just coughing and spluttering. "The gods?" Annabeth managed.

"M.I.A." Louisa muttered.

"Wh-?"

"M." Louisa said slowly. "I. A."

* * *

Chiron made the announcement that Olympus had been closed, the gods were unavailable and the camp was to be on alert- "I wish I could tell you things were alright, but with the gods suddenly so reclusive, I am afraid we must be on our toes." He looked to the Poseidon table and sighed. Percy was gone. Louisa had vanished five minutes after bringing Annabeth and Grover back. She took Storm with her and that was it.

Chiron looked to the Hades table. Nico wasn't there either.

The campers were aware of where he was looking and whispers broke out- _the Big Three kids had gone_.

Louisa and Nico had had the same thought. Nico used Storm's shadow over the clouds to catch up with his cousin.

"Lou!" He called as he dropped into a free fall. Storm dived and swooped under him. He landed behind Louisa and huffed. "There's a thing called a _saddle_."

"Shut up."

"Do you think he's there?"

"I don't know. I can't feel him." Nico shot a quizzical look at the back of her head. "That whole connection thing, I've started pickin' up on where he is, like if I'm headin' back ta Cabin Three, I'd know if he was there or not. I don't know how or why, but I'd know. Does that make sense?"

"Yes. Is there a particular range?" Louisa shrugged. "I presume you're under the same promise I am?" She nodded. Nico sighed and held on. He wasn't overly fond of flying, but it beat clocking out for days at a time due to excessive shadow travel. It was another few minutes before they saw their destination. "Mmph." Nico pulled a face. "I prefer the Greeks."


	38. Chapter 38

**Short chapter for today, I need to work out how I'm going to span the several months Percy's missing.**

* * *

Storm landed right in the middle of their parade. Louisa had told her to, of course, so it didn't really matter now, damage had been done. The Romans weren't particularly happy with this, scrambling to regain their ranks. The praetors broke rank to interrogate this intrusion.

"Oh, it's you." Reyna sighed. "What do you want?"

"It's good to see you too." Nico smirked. Louisa dismounted and faced Reyna and her co-worker, Jason. "We're looking for a friend." Nico explained.

"My brother." Louisa added.

"You have a brother?" Jason marvelled.

"Yeah, it's a new thing for me too." Louisa glowered. "Don't suppose any sons of Neptune have turned up?"

"I'm sure we'd have known if they had." Reyna replied curtly. Jason elbowed her and gave a slight shake of the head. Reyna sighed. "What happened to him?"

"Poof." Louisa said, making tiny explosions with her hands. "Gone. Early hours of this mornin'." The praetors shared quizzical looks. "Look, if a Percy Jackson turns up, ya tell me _that very second_ 'cos I swear ta gods I will break your faces if you don't."

"We'll keep an eye out." Jason promised. "Reyna-" He stopped short. "Reyna, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Louisa, if he does arrive at Camp Jupiter, we will let you know. However, right now, we're in the middle of-"

"Parade. Yeah, I know. Why else would we land here?"

"You're insufferable."

"Tell me somethin' I don't know. Come on, Nico, idiots ta find."

"Does 'idiots' include Octavian?"

"Later." Louisa promised, pulling herself back up. Nico grinned. Reyna and Jason half-sighed, half-groaned in annoyance.

"Leave the augur alone." Reyna ordered.

"No." Louisa and Nico said together. Storm whickered, almost as if she were laughing. She nudged Jason affectionately, snorted at Reyna- Reyna hadn't given her an apple once and Storm held a grudge- and bounded off. Romans fell back as she spread her wings and leapt into the sky. "What are the chances of Percy finding the Roman camp?"

"I'd say very high."

"And why's that?" Louisa explained what she had seen at Olympus. Nico remained in a stunned silence for a while. "No, that can't be right. Their Greek and Roman sides have always co-existed, why-? This doesn't make any sense. What do we do?"

"Well, we've still gotta keep ta them promises."

"Neither camp can know of the other." Nico nodded.

"But I'm gettin' a feelin' that's about ta hit the fan too." She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You didn't see Hazel."

"Parade."

"Still. Ya don't resent her, do you?"

"What do you mean?" Nico asked defensively.

"Ya know what I mean."

"I don't resent her. I just... wish it could be different." Nico's voice fell quiet and he didn't speak above a mumble. Louisa had to listen very carefully. "I wish I could have brought back two sisters rather than one."

"She's been reborn, ain't she?"

"In the stages of it." A soft thump on her shoulder and Nico sighed, resting his head there. Louisa stayed still. "Percy's still alive, if you were wondering."

"I know he's alive."

"Connection?"

"That 'n' ya dad ain't celebrated yet."

"True." Nico agreed. "Percy will be fine. He's probably at the nearest cheeseburger place already."

"Speakin' of, want lunch?"

"No."

"I'll buy ya a Happy Meal."

"I'm not hungry."

"You are the only kid ta ever say no ta a Happy Meal." Louisa hummed thoughtfully. "Then again, you _are_ the only kid ta ever summon the dead with a Happy Meal, so... if ya didn't eat it, we could call up Beethoven or someone. Oooh, no- Julius Caesar."

"So you can mock him for being assassinated?"

"Bitch had it comin'."

"Regardless."


	39. Chapter 39

**I'm back! I had to do stock take all day Thursday and was working all day Friday and then I was at my old school's closure party thingy and then out all day yesterday with a friend and I'm off again later, but I'm gonna try and update now.**

 **Also, I've got some 'headcanons' for my OCs, I'll post those later! Just things I came up with in my lunchbreak, I haven't totally disappeared! ^_^**

 **To Muse45- Ugh, you used the dreaded word D: Don't get me wrong, I love the praise ^_^ but I CANNOT stand the word 'fabulous', it makes my skin crawl D:**

 **To Guest- Thank you :D**

* * *

"Where'd you go?" Annabeth demanded the second Storm landed. Nico dismounted first, complaining and stretching. Louisa dropped beside him, frowning at Annabeth.

"Had to check somethin'." She eventually muttered. "It don't matter," she continued as Annabeth opened her mouth to argue, "came up empty. Hey, how come there are silver people down there?" Annabeth looked back down over the camp and sighed.

"Those are the Hunters of Artemis. I've an old friend who's their leader, sort of Artemis's second-in-command. We called them in to help find Percy. They're very good at tracking."

"'N' they're also very good at shovin' basketballs in unmentionable places."

"Oh gods." Annabeth sprinted down the hill. Louisa and Nico exchanged nods and rushed after her before she could break up the fight entirely. The girl trying to shove a basketball in unmentionable places looked about sixteen with short, spiky dark hair and electric blue eyes and a punk-chick style. Annabeth barged between this girl and her victim, throwing out her hands to distance the pair. "We don't have time for this-"

"You look familiar." Louisa cut in, examining the Hunter curiously. She had a silver headband, marking her as the highest ranking Hunter. "Don't think we've met though. Who are you?"

"I am Thalia, Hunter of Artemis and daughter of Zeus. Who are you?"

"Louisa. Daughter of Poseidon."

"Nico, son of Hades. Hey, Thalia."

"Hey, Nico." Thalia and Nico shook hands. Louisa folded her arms. Annabeth started chewing her lip; a child of each Big Three god, this wasn't her best move. Percy and Thalia got on pretty well, but Louisa was the polar opposite of her brother.

"Weren't you a tree?" Louisa remembered.

"Yes." Thalia replied stiffly.

"You smell like pine. If this Hunter thing don't work out, we could always use ya as one of them car freshner things. Hang ya from the rear view mirror."

"I'm actually here to help find your brother. Remember him?"

"Gee, I haven't seen him for the last five seconds, who are we talkin' 'bout again?" Nico cleared his throat and his cousins looked at him sharply.

"As much as I find rocky family reunions funny, I'd really rather not see a fight between sea and sky again, thank you. Think you two can get along to find Percy? You're more alike than you realise."

"Ya ain't hangin' me from a rear view mirror."

"Your head is full of kelp."

"Fight me."

"Maybe I will."

"Did you not hear the 'rather not see a fight between sea and sky' I literally just said?" Nico said sharply. Thalia and Louisa were squaring up to each other. Annabeth had her head in her hands, silently cursing herself for putting these two together. "Listen, Lou, Thalia and her Hunters are expert archers and trackers. Thalia, Lou has very similar skills. Just because your dads are at loggerheads ninety-nine percent of the time, doesn't mean you two need to be as well. How hard can it be to work together, seriously? That was a rhetorical question, I don't want a sarcastic answer." Louisa glowered. "Combine your skills. Stop fighting. Find Percy. Does that sound simple enough?"

"Nico, I'd smack you-" Thalia started.

"But you won't because you know I can and will shadow-travel you to a high place." Thalia glared at him. Louisa suddenly looked curious. "And you," Nico rounded on her, "won't use that to your advantage or I'll take you to the deepest pit of snakes I can find." Louisa's expression soured. "Are we going to be good now or should I just follow through with what I've just said?" They nodded mutely. Annabeth was now watching from between her fingers, mystified. "Good. I'm going to go and talk to Chiron; you two had better be getting along when I get back or gods help you." Nico considered them both for a moment and then stalked off towards the Big House.

"Car freshner." Louisa muttered.

"Kelp head." Thalia retorted.

"Idiots." Annabeth sighed. "I'm surrounded by idiots."


	40. Chapter 40

"I'm sorry-not-sorry, but who are you again?"

"I'm Drew. Head counsellor of the Aphrodite cabin." Drew flipped her hair over her shoulder. When Louisa didn't look impressed, she tried something else. "I'd have thought, being twins, you'd have good taste in partners." Louisa squinted at her. She was running on two hours of sleep and wasn't following this conversation very well. Interactions with Drew had been few and far between and Louisa honestly wasn't complaining. Drew reminded her of some of the girls she used to go to school with, but Drew was a demigod so that just made her more annoying. "Percy has Annabeth and no-one can deny they weren't meant to be. And you," Drew _hmmph_ ed, a mocking little laugh, "you have Nico."

"Come again?"

"What do you even see in him?" Drew smirked. Louisa stared at her for a moment. OK, she knew she was tired, she knew she was pushing her luck and energies trying to find Percy, but surely she couldn't be mishearing something _this_ weird?

"You're not getting into trouble again, are you?"

"Speak of the devil." Louisa muttered. She flicked Nico's arm and then nodded at Drew. "Why didn't ya tell me we were datin'?"

" _What_?" Nico did a double-take. "Oh my, it's like all my dreams have come true!" He and Louisa exchanged bemused looks and then started fawning over each other- _I love your hair; your eyes are amazing, I could just get lost in them_ ; _I love what you've done with your outfit today, ketchup stains are_ so _in!-_ and then they just cracked up laughing. They were sleep-deprived, they were supposedly dating and they were having the time of their lives watching the irritated blush spread through Drew's face and down her neck. Louisa couldn't take it anymore when Nico proposed, but that didn't stop them from linking arms and dancing around Drew, "we're engaged, we're engaged!"

"What in the name of Olympus is going on?" Annabeth butted in.

"We just got engaged!"

"What?"

"Well, Drew said we were datin' 'n' then we figured it was high time things got serious. Isn't that right, my wee Nico-pop?"

"Quite right." Nico smiled. Annabeth's questioning look bounced from one to the other. "According to Drew, Louisa is the love of my life. Shall we go and plan the wedding?"

"I say food."

"You always say food." Nico shook his head. Louisa yawned into the crook of her elbow, shoulders slumping. "I say sleep."

"Mmm, sleep. Future Mrs di Angelo is out." Louisa saluted and Nico led her away. Annabeth watched them disappear into Cabin Three, Nico emerged a minute later and waved at them. Annabeth waved back.

"You didn't seriously think they were dating, did you?"

"It just seemed that way." Drew mumbled, shoulders hunched.

"They're friends. They're crazy, they'll take the mick and they will wind you and anyone else they can up, but they doesn't mean they're dating." Annabeth tapped a finger on her chin and sighed. "Try ultimate best friends. That's more their relationship. Nico's too defensive for any kind of romantic relationship and Lou's not interested at all, unless it's Deadpool."

"They're weird."

"Agreed."

* * *

"And I missed it?" Thalia huffed. Annabeth smiled. "Dam, imagine the kids. Super moody, super violent, double super crazy- sounds like a good deal." Thalia shrugged.

"I heard moody, violent and crazy. Not talking about me, by any chance?" Nico sat by his cousin and helped himself to a handful of her gummy bears.

"Congrats on the engagement." Thalia moved her bowl of sweets away from him. Nico smirked his thanks. "To be honest, cuz, I'd always figured you'd be the last of us to get engaged."

"Gee, love you too." Nico stuck his tongue out at her.

"You got engaged before Percabeth."

"My one positive achievement." Nico deadpanned. He tipped his head back and dispensed the stolen sweets in his mouth, ignoring Annabeth's crimson face. "Any news on the other half?" Thalia sighed and shook her head.

"Sometimes I think we're onto something, but it always goes cold." Thalia started to say more, but stopped, hesitating. At Nico's expectant look, she admitted, "It's like someone doesn't want him to be found. Yet." She added hastily, shooting a cautious look to Annabeth. Nico hummed in agreement. "We'll find him. Or he'll come back- I doubt he'll be much good without his Wise Girl." Annabeth went red again and told Thalia to shut it. Thalia smirked. "Hey, Nico?"

"Mm?"

"Who's gonna be Lou's maid of honour?"

"Chiron."

"And, uh, your best man?" Nico looked her dead in the eye.

"You."

"Sweet."

* * *

Annabeth knocked on the door of Cabin Three.

"Lou?" She called. Louisa called back with incoherent babbling and Annabeth went in. Louisa was face-down in her pillow, arm up and bent over her head, one leg tangled in her blankets and the other dangling over the edge. "Lou." Louisa used her free arm to prop her head up, mumbling. "I know you're tired, I'm sorry. I just wanted to ask you something. I, um... I brought coffee."

"Acceptable." It took a long moment for Louisa to sit up. Annabeth handed up the coffee and pulled herself onto the neighbouring top bunk. "What'd ya want?"

"Did Percy talk about me at all?"

"All the freakin' time. Why you frettin' for? We'll either find him or he'll come back. It ain't like he'd leave ya high 'n' dry." Louisa sipped her beverage and considered Annabeth for a minute. "Ya seriously ain't thinkin' that he'd leave you, are ya?"

"Lou, if the gods are causing trouble again... I thought I lost him once. I don't want to go through that again."

"'N' ya won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"There are three things Percy won't ever give up- family, blue food 'n' you." Louisa smiled reassuringly. "I know I ain't been on the scene long, but it's pretty obvious the dude's head over heels for ya. 'N' you are for him, although I honestly don't see the appeal."

"You wouldn't, he's your brother."

"He's an idiot." Louisa shrugged. "Suppose that balances you out though, right?"

"I miss him."

"I'm literally only tryin' ta find him ta smack him for bein' a prat."

"You miss him too."

"Eh. Ain't half as fun playin' Cheat against Tyson. He don't get it, bless him, but he tries." Louisa considered Annabeth for a moment. "Blondie. Percy will kill me for tellin' ya this, but... he's more than head over heels for you. The guy's completely hooked, he's got ya whole future planned, he just won't tell you 'cos he doesn't want ta scare ya off. I never really believed in true love, I always figured that was a Disney thing, but this Percabeth thing... it's pretty damn close."

"Lou-"

"We'll get him back. We'll get him back 'n' ya can have ya happily ever after. Sound good?"

"Sounds good."

"Can I go back ta sleep?"

"Yeah, OK. Thanks, Lou."

"Don't mention it, Blondie."


	41. Chapter 41

**Possible short chapter! Also, ***READ BELOW*****

 **I started writing this** _ **forever**_ **ago and totally forgot about it. What with work and getting a second rabbit and stuff I haven't really had a lot of time to work on it/ inspiration to work on it D:**

* * *

Louisa rubbed at her face tiresomely, slumping on the ping-pong table. Clarisse smacked her hand on the surface and scolded her harshly in Ancient Greek. Louisa groaned in annoyance, raising her head and plonking her chin on the green. Fierce glowers boiled the air between them.

"I've looked everywhere 'n' anywhere you can think of. I've got lookouts all over the country, I've got lookouts in other countries, I've got lookouts in places you didn't even know existed. So, excuse me for not havin' found the prat yet, but there's only so much I can do."

"Hmmph." Clarisse drew her knife, cleaning her fingernails on it. "If it was the other way around, Percy would have found you by now." Louisa, hands on her head, curled her fingers in her hair, her expression slowly crumpling into the utmost look of loathing.

"In case ya haven't noticed, _princess_ ," she snarled, "I ain't _Percy_."

"I think we noticed that, _your highness_." Clarisse gave a mock bow, sneer looping her upper lip. Louisa's hands slapped the table and she pushed herself up, barely shoulder-height to the daughter of Ares, tipping her chin up in sheer defiance. "Ooh, what are you going to do?" Clarisse teased, leaning forward to smirk into a sea green glare. "Percy doesn't scare me; why would I be scared of some prissy little girl?"

"Simple really." Louisa said, voice quiet but firm. The others leant forward, worried and eager to see what unfolded. "Here's a fun fact for ya. 'Bout seventy percent of the human body is water. Guess what I control." Louisa's hand shot up and clenched into a fist. Clarisse went rigid, face taut and paling. Annabeth was on her feet, yelling and pulling on Louisa's arm. Louisa flicked her other hand and the blonde was thrown back into her seat. Clarisse doubled over, arms thumping onto the table, retching and trembling chronically. Other counsellors were clamouring, Chiron was calling for order, Clarisse spluttered and choked, a great slosh of water cascading out on a body-racking, tearing cough.

For a split second, Clarisse looked to Louisa, a flailing gasp on her lips. Louisa opened her hand and turned her palm towards the older girl. Clarisse vanished suddenly, crashing to the floor. Some of the braver campers present rushed Louisa, but she wasn't finished yet. A guttural, blood-chilling, scream ripped from Clarisse, as though dragged from her soul, slashing at every fibre of her being, shattering the tension in the air and flooding it with thousands of haunting shards of ice and torment.

"STOP IT!" Annabeth shrieked, lurching forward. Her knife sprung to hand, darted into a gap as Louisa dispelled the onslaught of counsellors as easily as she had Annabeth. Louisa released whatever control she had over Clarisse, snarling at her friend. She brought her hand up. Annabeth struck low. Louisa gaped at her, a grunt of pain; sticky warmth flooded Annabeth's hand and they both looked down. "Oh…" Annabeth said in a very small voice. Louisa swore, knocking Annabeth's hand away. She gripped the hilt in her bloodied fingers, gritting her teeth. "Lou, wait-" There was a fresh spurt of scarlet as Louisa wrenched the knife out. Will hissed disapprovingly, but he was too busy tending to Clarisse.

Louisa pressed her hand to her injury. Sea green sparked along her arm, condensing over the crimson. Annabeth stared, torn between bewilderment and embarrassment- she hadn't meant to stab Louisa, it had just… _happened._

Chiron barged in then, breaking up whatever storm was brewing between the two girls. He grabbed Louisa by the arm and marched her out. Louisa fought against him, cursing bitterly. Chiron said something in Greek and Louisa glowered. He dragged her into the Big House, straight through to the living room where Mr. D sat sipping a Diet Coke.

"I told you she was bad news." The god said tiresomely. "You never listen."

"Not now." Chiron told him impatiently. "Louisa, I… I don't even know what to say, but… _how could you do that_?"

"Simple." Louisa muttered. "Don't like the bitch, kill the bitch."

"No! By the gods, child, no!"

"Don't see why ya gettin' so stressy. It's just Clarisse." Louisa shrugged. She toyed with the hem of her T-shirt, frowning at the tear Annabeth's knife had left and the scarlet stain that definitely wouldn't come out. Chiron was too angry, he didn't know what to say, his thoughts were a mess. No demigod had _ever_ made him this out-of-sorts. He couldn't even find his voice when she turned to leave. The god behind him snorted, flipping a page of his wine magazine.

"She's need sorting, that one. I think she'll make a nice bottlenose."

"Not helping. I'm going to check on Clarisse. Do not turn anyone into a dolphin."

"I can't make any promises."

* * *

Louisa had disappeared. The relief thick in the air didn't go unnoticed. Will and his siblings were taking good care of Clarisse. "It'll take a couple of weeks, but she'll recover."

"Weeks?" Chiron worried. Will's expression darkened.

"I won't go into detail, but… Lou did a real number on her, to put it nicely."

"Where is she?"

"Clarisse is in the infirmary. Lou… we don't know. Someone said they saw her go into the forest, but that was after she ran out of the Big House. Gods know where she is now."

"Undoubtedly somewhere in the ocean." Chiron sighed. Will nodded mutely. Chiron squeezed his shoulder. "Thank you for tending to Clarisse, but I must ask you to stay with her."

"Of course." Will smiled tightly. Chiron let him go and headed towards Cabin Six. Annabeth was furiously working on her blueprints, erasing lines here and there, drawing them again. Chiron knocked, ducking his head to smile grimly at her.

"I didn't mean to stab her."

"I understand."

"Percy would never-" Her voice caught and her pencil hovered over the paper. "Percy would never do that. But Lou… I thought we were getting to know her, but… oh, Poseidon was right." She set her pencil down, pushing her hands through her hair. Chiron's brow furrowed.

"How so?"

"He told us good luck. Before we set off to find Lou, Poseidon wished Grover and I _luck_." Annabeth sighed. Chiron hummed irritably. "I know. We thought it was just because of Lou being Lou, but this…" She looked at him desperately. "I think the sooner we find Percy, the sooner this mess can be straightened out." Annabeth shivered, crossing her arms. "I never thought Clarisse could scream like that."

"It is not a sound I will soon forget." Chiron agreed gravelly. Annabeth's bottom lip trembled, her hand quickly covering it. Her voice, muffled and shaky, slipped between her fingers in a horrified whisper:

"She sounded broken."

* * *

"You could have killed her."

"I don't care."

"What would Percy think?"

"I don't care!" Louisa whipped round, fuming. Nico didn't even flinch. "I don't care that Clarisse nearly oh-so-tragically died, I don't care what Percy would think, _I_ _do not care_! Why don't people get that?!" Her hands furled into fists and she suddenly wasn't looking at him anymore. "Where are we?" She demanded. Nico picked a speck of dirt from his jeans and sighed. "Nico." She snarled. "Where _are_ we?"

"Somewhere in Connecticut."

"Why?"

"First place in my head. I don't know." He shrugged. "But that doesn't matter right now. What are you going to do?" Her shoulders hunched, scowl deepening. "We can't stay here. We either go out and keep looking for your brother or we go back and you set things right."

"That'll be a fun conversation. Hey Clarisse, sorry-not-sorry for tryin' ta tear ya apart from the inside, not that ya can hear bein' comatose 'n' all. Hope ya get better _never_."

"I take it we're going to look for Percy then?"

"Look where?"

"I know." The cousins started into action immediately, swords at the ready within a heartbeat. "Hello again."

"Popadom." Louisa said, unimpressed. "What d'ya want?"

"Firstly, I want you to stop calling me Popadom."

"And call you what?" Nico asked. "Steve? Carl? Stupid?" The dryad bared his teeth at Nico, snarling. "Why are you here?"

"I know where you can look for your brother."

"Where?" Louisa demanded.

"I'm not saying you'll find him, but-"

" _Where_?!" Louisa raged, storming forward. The edge of her blade connected with his neck. She would have dug it deeper had he not known Percy's whereabouts or for the curse. He smiled, sensing her indecision, calmly taking a step back.

"He's with his sister." The dryad nodded at Nico, who frowned.

"Hazel?"

"Who else?" Popadom smirked. Nico coloured furiously, cursing bitterly in Italian. "I, of course, would recommend _you_ going there, Louisa. See some old friends, perhaps. Ah, you know where I'm talking about."

"They wouldn't." Louisa shook her head.

"They had to."

"But- ooh, _Reyna_." Louisa glared at her charge, drew back her fist and smacked him straight in the face. He crashed to the floor, out cold.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Nico winced.

"Don't."

"Where are they?"

"Out."

"Out?"

"Out. Beyond the gods." Louisa looked up. Nico did too. Storm was flying closer.

"You're not-?"

"No. I'm gonna pay Reyna a visit."

"She's not going to like that."

"Shame."

* * *

 **I have a new story up, just a chapter at the moment, but called** _ **No touchy!**_ **And FanFiction isn't showing me reviews again, so I'll reply as soon as I can!**


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